After seven years with Nats, Werth now faces uncertain future

As we transition into offseason mode here, we're reviewing each significant player on the Nationals roster. We continue today with Jayson Werth, whose seventh (and likely final) season in D.C. didn't go the way he hoped it would.

PLAYER REVIEW: JAYSON WERTH

Age on opening day 2018: 38

How acquired: Signed as free agent, Dec. 2010

MLB service time: 14 years, 102 days

2017 salary: $21 million

Contract status: Free agent. (Nats will be paying him $10 million in deferred salary in 2018.)

2017 stats: 70 G, 289 PA, 252 AB, 35 R, 57 H, 10 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR, 29 RBI, 4 SB, 3 CS, 35 BB, 69 SO, .226 AVG, .322 OBP, .393 SLG, .715 OPS, -5 DRS, -0.3 WAR

Quotable: "To think that it's over right now is tough to swallow. I'm proud of what we've accomplished here, obviously. This place has come a long way in seven years. No regrets. We gave it all we had. I know I gave everything I had, left it all out there. I'm proud to call myself a National. Before I came here, I don't know if anybody would've said that." - Werth

2017 analysis: Werth entered the season knowing he might only have one more shot to lead the Nationals to the kind of deep October run he envisioned when he signed with the then-last place club seven years ago. And he got off to the kind of red-hot start that made you wonder if he might just play a huge role in making that happen. In his first 32 games, Werth hit .316 with a .414 on-base percentage and .922 OPS.

The veteran outfielder started to cool off in late-May, but even when he fouled a ball off the inside of his left foot on June 3 in Oakland, he owned an .814 OPS that was plenty sufficient at this stage of his career. Little did he or the Nats realize then that it would take him three months to get back into the lineup, the bone bruise and hairline fracture that occurred on the foul ball proving to be far more serious than initially expected.

When Werth did finally return at the end of August, he simply could not rediscover his form. Over his final 23 games, he batted a paltry .155 with a .226 on-base percentage and .512 OPS, ruining what had looked like it would be big season. Still trusted by manager Dusty Baker, Werth started every game of the National League Division Series and even batted second in Games 4 and 5. He did reach base four times in the decisive game, but his misplay of a routine line drive hit to him in left field sadly will be many Nationals fans' final lasting image of him.

2018 outlook: Werth has long maintained he believes he can continue playing major league baseball into his 40s, citing the way he's taken care of his body and avoided the kind of muscle, cartilage and ligament injuries that often wear down players of his age.

But he has not been able to avoid freakish injuries that too often have sidelined him for months at a time. In three of his seven seasons with the Nats, he played in fewer than 90 games. And his production has not consistently been strong in some time. Despite prolonged hot streaks that made you think he might still have it in him, Werth hit .233 with a .322 on-base percentage and .724 OPS over the last three years.

That leaves the veteran in a tough spot this winter. He turns 39 in May. He knows the Nationals aren't likely to bring him back on anything more than a low-cost, one-year contract that wouldn't guarantee him regular playing time. Werth will want to have an opportunity to make a greater impact on a team, but what team out there is going to offer him that opportunity?

Werth's diminished defensive skills suggest his best shot is in the American League. But he hasn't hit nearly enough the last three seasons to merit a full-time DH job. And so he may be left with no choice but to accept a lesser role on a lesser team somewhere in an attempt to prolong his career. Or, sad to say, he may be left to accept that his playing days are over.