Jayson Werth Could Stay With Phillies, Says GM Ruben Amaro

While he may not have earned himself as much extra money as Cliff Lee has this October, Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth probably doesn't need to worry about getting a new contract this winter when he hits the free agent market. He'll still be one of the top outfielders available, along with Carl Crawford, and he has Scott Boras as an agent. Of course, most people presume that wherever Werth signs his next deal, it won't be in Philadelphia where he played a key role in getting the Phillies to the World Series two years in a row.

Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro doesn't see things that way. Not only does he want Werth back in the City of Brotherly Love next season, he thinks that his team can get the deal done as well. Amaro did qualify his statement by saying that it will depend on what the asking price is, and how it will affect other parts of the organization.

Still, even while Amaro says that the Phillies would like Werth back, it was this quote that makes me doubt the sincerity behind his remarks:

"Jayson had a good year. It wasn't an extraordinary year," Amaro told reporters. "He had a tough time with men in scoring position. It wasn't as productive a year as he had in the past. If he is not with us, there are players that we can acquire and or we have in our own organization that can help us be as consistent."

In my opinion, Amaro is either letting Boras know what he's going to bring up in contract negotiations by pointing out Werth's weaknesses in 2010, or he's preparing the Phillies fan base of the likelihood that Werth won't be in Philadelphia as anything other than a visiting player next season. Considering that the Phillies have Domonic Brown waiting in the wings, I'm not expecting Werth to return in 2011. Amaro is just saying all the right things while preparing to move in another direction.