Outfielder Jayson Werth is a free agent heading into his age-39 season (he turns 39 in May), but the veteran thinks he still has “a few good years left,” ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports. Werth says he’s been training hard this offseason and plans to come into spring training in great shape. He is “ready to go and excited about 2018.”
This past season with the Nationals, Werth hit a lackluster .226/.322/.393 with 10 home runs and 29 RBI in 289 plate appearances. He played in only 70 games as a result of a foot injury. Werth hasn’t hit above the league average, going by adjusted OPS, since 2014. Along with battling injuries -- he’s played in 301 of a possible 486 games since 2015 -- he’s become more of a liability on the bases as well as on defense.
With the free agent market still largely unsettled, Werth may have to wait quite a while until he signs. Free agent outfielders still available include J.D. Martinez, Lorenzo Cain, Cameron Maybin, Jose Bautista, Jay Bruce, Carlos Gomez, Curtis Granderson, and Carlos Gonzalez.
