Jayson Werth told Fancred Sports today he is done playing professional baseball after trying to make a comeback with the Seattle Mariners. The 39-year old was hitting .206 with four long balls and 19 RBI for the triple-A Tacoma Rainiers. Werth signed with the Mariners in November of 2017 after the Washington Nationals released the former All-Star, but he couldn’t get back to the big leagues with Seattle.
A successful career
Werth was given a huge contract in 2011 by the Nationals, signing for seven years and $126 million at age 32. That deal was criticized heavily, but Werth did help Washington go from the bottom of the NL East to a contender for many years now. The former first-round pick helped the Philadelphia Phillies win a World Series in 2008, and he also was named an All-Star in 2009 after hitting a career-high 36 homers.
Werth broke into the major leagues in 2002 with the Blue Jays, spending two years in Toronto before being traded to the LA Dodgers. He spent time with five different organizations throughout his 15-year big league career, with his longest stint being in Washington from 2011 to 2017. Werth was a career .267 hitter, slugging 229 homers and collecting 799 RBI. Despite his big stature at 6 foot 5, Werth was a decent baserunner as well, swiping 132 bags throughout his career. Werth was a franchise changing player for the Nationals. Through seven years in the Nation’s capital, Werth hit .263 with 109 homers. He led Washington to four postseason appearances after the Nationals never made the playoffs in their first seven seasons.
Going out with no regrets
The Springfield, Illinois native was selected 22nd overall by the Baltimore Orioles out of high school in 1997 as a catcher, but quickly made the move to the outfield when he began his professional career. Blessed with a smooth, powerful swing and a cannon for an arm, Werth was once a very relevant big league player.
There’s always going to come a time in a big leaguer’s career where they can’t produce at the same level anymore. Baseball will miss the long luscious locks and thick beard that Werth had, but it will never be forgotten what he did for the Nationals and the Phillies.
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