Four years in, a look at the Werth contract

Back when Jayson Werth signed his seven-year, $126 million deal with the Nationals, many people weren't shy about criticizing the contract, saying the amount of money the Nats were giving Werth far exceeded the market and what could be expected of the veteran outfielder.

You don't hear people banging that drum too hard these days, however.

So far, Werth has played four seasons in D.C., putting him past the midway point of his contract. He's now 35. And while injuries have been a bit of a problem here and there, Werth hasn't slowed down much just yet.

Here are the numbers Werth has put up over his four years as a National:

2011: .232/.330/.389, 20 homers, 58 RBIs, 19 stolen bases, 97 OPS-plus in 150 games
2012: .300/.387/.440, 5 homers, 31 RBIs, 8 stolen bases, 124 OPS-plus in 81 games
2013: .318/.398/.532, 25 homers, 82 RBIs, 10 stolen bases, 153 OPS-plus in 129 games
2014: .292/.394/.455, 16 homers, 82 RBIs, 9 stolen bases, 134 OPS-plus in 147 games

And here is Werth's average stat line for his four seasons in Philadelphia, which landed him the seven-year contract with the Nats: .282/.380/.506, 24 homers, 75 RBIs, 15 stolen bases, 130 OPS-plus in 136 games per season.

Pretty comparable, huh?

Werth has hit leadoff for the Nationals and done the job. He hit third the bulk of this season and was a steady presence in the middle of the lineup. He's gotten on base, delivered key knocks and done it fairly consistently when he's been on the field.

As for the contract itself, Werth is still set to make $21 million per year over the final three years of his deal. But the average annual value over the life of the contract - $18 million - is far from unreasonable given the current state of the game, how much money is being thrown around on the free agent market and how highly quality middle-of-the-order bats are being valued these days.

Sure, Werth's power has dropped off a little, and he'll be hard-pressed to match the numbers posted during 2009 and 2010, when he hit a combined 63 home runs and had 138 extra-base hits for the Phillies.

Yes, he'll play much of the 2015 season after turning 36 in May, and as he ages, the injury risk gets greater. And even Werth would probably tell you that he isn't quite as good a defensive player now as he was three or four years ago.

But the .532 slugging percentage Werth posted in 2013 tied a career-high set in that 2010 campaign. He still reaches base at a ridiculous clip, is one of the most effective base-stealers in major league history and posted the fifth-highest WAR of any major league right fielder last season. He also has now finished in the top 18 of the National League MVP voting in back-to-back years.

That's also not even taking into account the off-field aspects that came from Werth's contract - how he helped change the baseball culture in D.C. and has provided a solid veteran presence in the clubhouse.

You could say that $21 million will be a lot to pay a player in his mid- to upper-30s, and you wouldn't be wrong. You could start a debate about players getting paid too much money throughout the baseball landscape. And certainly, things could change performance-wise over the final three years of Werth's deal, either due to injuries or a decrease in production.

But when it comes down to it, many people expected the Werth deal to be a total bust for the Nationals. And through four years, that most certainly hasn't proven to be the case.