Amaro: Phils offered Werth 'a significant contract'
Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. met with reporters in Orlando, the site of the winter meetings, in the aftermath of Jayson Werth agreeing to a 7-year, $126 million contract with Washington.
Amaro: Phils offered Werth 'a significant contract'
Daily News Staff
Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. met with reporters in Orlando, the site of the winter meetings, in the aftermath of Jayson Werth agreeing to a 7-year, $126 million contract with Washington.
Q: What is your reaction?
Amaro: “A little bit of a surprise as far as the team is concerned. But I’m glad for Jayson. I mean, Jayson worked very hard to get to the point where he could command this type of a contract. We did have interest in him. We did make him an offer we thought was pretty significant. We did that quite some time ago, actually. I think we’ve had that offer out there for about two weeks. But, obviously, he ended up getting something that was to his liking.”
Q: Surprised at the numbers?
Amaro: “Surprised? Not necessarily. I think the length was a little surprising but, again, it only takes one team to have that interest. And obviously it was important to the Nats that they add that kind of a bat, especially after having lost Adam Dunn. But, again, I’m glad for Jayson as a person. I think it’s great. It’s part of the process and we’ll have to move on.”
Q: There was a certain segment of the fan base that wanted him back at any cost. Do you think that these numbers will kind of make people see that committing that much for that many years might not have been wise?
Amaro: “I can’t operate and worry necessarily about how the fans are going to react and that kind of stuff. Although with the free agent market, you just don’t have any idea how things are going to work out. We had an idea of what we felt we would be comfortable with as far as a contract offer is concerned. We felt like we offered him a significant contract, but clearly at the end of the day, you know, it was about him trying to get the best contract he could. And I think he did.”
Q: You say you made a significant offer. But would it be fair to say that it was also significantly less than what he ended up getting from Washington?
A: “Yes, as far as years are concerned. Not necessarily on the AAV.”
Q: What are your feelings about him staying in the division? You’re going to see him a lot next year.
A: “We’ll get him out a lot. That’s what I think. I believe that we will. I know we’re going to try.”
Q: Do you know the secret?
A: (Laughing) “I think we do.”
Q: Can you now focus on getting another righthanded bat?
A: “Not necessarily. We could have our righthanded bat on our club right now. I’ve said this a few times already. We could have our rightfielder within our organization. We’ll still have to continue to assess that and see if in fact that’s the route we want to take. But frankly I’m going to have to find somebody who I think is going to be worth making a move on based on what we think about Ben Francisco and possibly Dom Brown. We still haven’t made any final decisions on who our rightfielder is going to be. But there’s one gut out of the mix now and we have to decide which way we want to go.”
Q: What do you make of what happened to Dom Brown in winter ball?
Amaro: “I actually talked to the agent when I found out and after talking to Charley Kerfeld a few times. And the fact of the matter is he looked sluggish and was tired. I told Mike Fishlin there was no reason for him to be out there if it wasn’t going to be a benefit to him. I believe in winter ball as a tool, but only if the player is going to get some benefit from it. We wanted him to get some more at bats, it sounded like from talking to Charley and ultimately the agent that it just wasn’t a benefit for him. So we decided to get him back home and to let him get ready for spring training.”
smug— WhyCantUs08- How is Brown tired? From sitting in the dugout? He looked TERRIBLE in right field too, btw
- Brown looked tired because he didn't want to be there. Utley, Howard, Rollins, Victorino -- who else was dispatched to a foreign land to play winter ball (knowing spring training starts March 1) because the club made a mistake in bringing them up too soon, then sitting them? No one. Get this, Brown has a brain, he had a great year last season at AAA before Aug. 1 and he didn't want to be riding a VW bus in the Dominican. Shocking! For all we know, he left a babe and family behind as well. He's human and I'm telling you, on the Phillies or not, he's going to have a nice ML career.— eman
- Brown will probably look better in spring training. He's still a work in progress but Francisco is solid so they can share time -- one or both also likely taking some time from Ibanez. I wouldn't be surprised to see a veteran part-time outfielder like Diaz added as well. We don't need to replace everything Jason had 100% if the rest of the lineup is healthy. You gotta like Ruben's attitude about facing Werth.— s
Remember Abreu.... not saying werth will drop off that badly but at the end of the day he was a role player not a difference maker. Not worth that kind of $$.— soybot- I would like to know what Rube's idea of a significant offer is - - - - - Then again, I'm a fan, and Rube admitted he's not worried about the reaction of the fans.— PhightinPhil
- At least with Werth there was not the standard BS "it's not about the money." It seems it was all about that. More power to him; in the weird universe of baseball economics, he got what the market would bear. I liked him on the team and liked his overall play, despite a few brain locks last year. I'm not feeling as nonchalant as Amaro about being able to replace him with little effect or effort, and about facing him, but what do I know? It's time for Amaro to get cookin' at the winter meetings this week. Plenty of retooling to do.— ijj
- a bat boy amongst men, came to a g un fight with a spork— tooltime
- Braves get Ugla and the Phils lose Werth. That is a 10 game swing!! better sign somebody good Ruben. Bring back Gillick, Please!!!— sawgrass
- Are you serious sawgrass a 10 game swing with the Braves getting Uggla and losing Werth. Werth hit .194 with runners in scoring position and has never in his life knocked in 100 runs in a season. We will see what he does in Washington with lesser players around him and a larger ballpark. I remember how great Rowand was here and it was the end of the phillies when he signed with the Giants. I bet the Giants wish that he would have taken the Phillies offer instead of theirs since he hit under .200 this year. Uggla was very good last year but, he was terrible the year before. The Phillies are the best team in the NL East with or without Werth. I read the Phillies offered Werth 4 years 66 million. If it is true I think it was a good offer. I don't want to be paying Werth 18 million a year when he is 39 years old. I think this is a smart move for the Phillies if Brown turns out to be a player or if they can trade Ibanez and bring in another bat. Lets wait to see what the Phillies do this offseason before we crown the Braves.— phillies09
- Werth will be missed, but it's all part of the game. The Phils sound like they're going to sit on there starting pitchers to keep them in the hunt for another run at the WS. It's well known that pitching wins, but you still need to hit and the Phils still need a right handed bat with some pop. They also need a right fielder and IMHO it's not D. Brown. He's nowhere near MLB ready. He might be able to drive a ball when he hits one, but his swing is way to long and slow and he seemd to be a little shaky out there in right field...a little hesitant when he gets clos to the wall/fence. They should've kept Michael Taylor instead.— TKB
- How can Dom Brown, a 23 year old who has not exerted himself physically to any extent in months be tired and sluggish? If I were Amaro, I wouldn't send him home. I'd send him to a doctor for a checkup.— SteveS11
- 10 game swing? Really? Please explain how. Werth replaces Dunn and Uggla stays in the same division. What really has changed? Sure some good numbers are gone, not great numbers. Go look at RISP average on Werth, not to mention with two outs. Why in the world would anyone be worried about a team with the two Roys and Hamels? The Phillies will be fine. That's a lot of money for a one time all-star who never had 100 RBI's. Never a 30/30 guy. And he'll be 32. If Ruben had signed him in 5-6 years you guys would be blasting him for getting stuck with his contract.— SFPhillyphan
- Sorta wonder about the mental toughness of some of the younger Phils prospects who should be hungry for a right field spot on the opening day 25 man roster on a still a championship caliber team. John Mayberry lasted one game in the Arizona Fall League and D. Brown lasted nine games in the Dominican Winter League before they threw in the towel and said "no more". The put themselves in difficult postions where they will be expected to produce big time in spring training games to have any hope of winning an opening day roster spot that is now up for grabs in right field.— Dull
- Werth had decent numbers the last couple of years, but has yet to drive in 100 runs. Howard's long-term deal is questionable to me, based on his penchant to strike out in clutch situations over the last two post-seasons. Werth is worth a high-salary gamble for three years max. Would I want to be locked in to paying Werth $18 mil at age 35, 36, 37, 38 and 39? No way. The Phils were right to let him go.— AreUKiddinMe
