Turns out the Washington Nationals didn’t want to just make it harder for other teams to sign first-overall picks, they also wanted to make it harder for other teams to sign anybody.
They started, of course, by signing Stephen Strasburg to a ludicrous deal (which later hindered their own ability to sign their next first-round pick), and now they’re blowing the doors off this winter’s MLB free agency period with the Jayson Werth signing.
Given the presence of starting pitcher and former Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee, and former Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Carl Crawford in the free agency pool, it’s fair to say Werth was at best, the third-best player available (assuming Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter were never actually going to sign anywhere by New York).
It’s also fair to say Werth won’t transform the Nationals’ lineup the way Lee will transform his new team’s starting rotation and Crawford will transform his new team’s batting order.
So how do teams approach signing Crawford or Lee knowing they’ll have to top a seven-year, $126 million pact?
In case Adam Dunn’s $14 million-a-year contract last week didn’t give it away, the December tradition that sees baseball executives far and wide lose their collective marbles known as free agency is officially underway. And officially as silly as ever.
--Steve
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