After calling it a career, Werth's legacy in D.C. is complete

Jayson Werth always insisted he could play well into his 40s, that as a late bloomer who didn't become a big league regular until his late 20s and someone who was big into nutrition and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, he was uniquely positioned to continue his playing career beyond the norm.

And no doubt Werth still believed that deep in his heart when he went out to Tacoma two months ago to play for the Mariners' Triple-A affiliate.

There were three factors, however, Werth couldn't overcome. First was his age; he turned 39 last month. Second were the nagging injuries that cropped up more and more in recent seasons; this time it was a hamstring strain. And third was the underlying state of the baseball industry, which as this past winter confirmed has soured on offering free agents in their late 30s guaranteed contracts.

And so, much as it probably pained him to acknowledge today, Werth understood it was time to retire.

"I'm done ... whatever you want to call it," the outfielder told Fancred Sports' Jon Heyman.

Werth last played 19 days ago for Tacoma, departing a game in Nashville with the aforementioned hamstring injury. He already had pushed back the opt-out date in his contract in hopes of getting called up to Seattle, but the Mariners are playing well and had no room for a 39-year-old hitting .206 with a .297 on-base percentage at Triple-A.

And when Werth was spotted at Nationals Park on June 15 for the annual Congressional Baseball Game, the insinuation was pretty clear. His playing career was over.

But what a career it was. And what a profound impact he had on the Nationals franchise during his seven seasons here.

The baseball industry collectively gasped when the Nationals offered Werth $126 million in December 2010, calling it a massive overpay for a guy who may have been a valuable part of the Phillies' elite roster but nonetheless was viewed as a complementary piece, not the guy you build your entire team around.

Mike Rizzo even acknowledged he was overpaying Werth, not so much in dollars as much as years. But Rizzo also knew the only chance the Nationals had of luring a big-name free agent to D.C. at that point was to go above and beyond what anyone else was offering.

Remember, this was a franchise that finished no better than fourth in the National League East in any of its first six seasons in town. The notion that anyone of consequence would want to come to Washington was ludicrous.

But Rizzo recognized the best way for the Nationals to be taken seriously by the industry was to sign one big-name player, convincing others to follow. And so he gave Werth a contract he knew might not look great come years six and seven, believing the positives ultimately would outweigh the negatives.

And you know what, they did.

There will forever be those who insist Werth wasn't worth the price tag, and nothing you say will ever convince them otherwise. But consider that in the first five years of his contract his total WAR (according to Fangraphs) was 13.3. If 1 WAR really is worth $7 million in salary (the rough estimate calculated by people smart enough to calculate such things), then Werth was worth $93.1 million from 2011-15.

Werth's actual salary during those five seasons: $80.57 million. So, yes, turns out he was a bargain.

True, those final two seasons of the contract weren't good. Werth was making $21 million per year (though a good chunk of that money was deferred) and he missed considerable time with injury and didn't play particularly well when he was healthy.

So if you still want to complain about the contract, complain about the length of it. But also acknowledge it was the only way Werth was going to come to D.C. Which helped pave the way for Max Scherzer and others eventually to come to D.C., as well.

Werth's impact on the Nationals was profound, and not simply on the field. In the clubhouse, he commanded instant respect. As one of the only guys on the roster at that point to have played for a World Series champion, he helped change the culture around here by offering advice to other players and the front office on ways to alter their in-season and offseason training, their nutrition and simply how to be part of a successful organization.

Many scoffed at Werth when he left a Phillies team fresh off four consecutive division titles to sign with a last-place Nationals team. Clearly, he was just chasing the money. But give the man credit. He had a hunch where those two franchises were going. And he was proven right in the end.

"The young talent in this organization is immense," Werth said at his introductory press conference at Nationals Park. "With the length of the contract I got, I felt good about the chances of this organization winning over the course of my contract. That was very important to me. I've been in the postseason a lot the last couple of years. That's what it's all about. That's what you play for. That's what you work out for. That's what you get to spring training early for. I hate to lose. I'm here to win."

Werth did win with the Nationals. A lot. He may not have won the ultimate prize here, and some will view that as a significant black mark on his time in Washington. But it's no coincidence his time in D.C. coincided with the best sustained stretch of baseball this town had experienced in more than 70 years.

Who knows for sure what the Nationals would look like today had they never signed Werth. But here's what you do know for sure: It looks a lot different today than it did eight years ago thanks to one of the most important players in franchise history.