Since Jayson Werth’s surprise signing with the Washington Nationals on Sunday, Philadelphia has been left with a giant void to fill in the outfield.
Many rumors have been thrown around as to how the Phillies are looking to replace Werth. Some rumors include signing San Francisco’s Aaron Rowand and moving top prospect Dominic Brown into the starting position. However, with Jayson Werth out, the Phillies have a lot of freed-up money. Tampa Bay’s Carl Crawford is the top outfielder available since Werth signed on Sunday. The Phillies seem to be passing him by with very little interest.
Why?
Werth brought speed, great defensive ability and a powerful bat to the club. Crawford possesses these same abilities, and to a point may be able to surpass Werth’s talent. Over the past five seasons Crawford has 71 home runs, 372 RBI, 240 stolen bases and hit .301.
In the same time frame Werth has 102 home runs, 343 RBI, 71 stolen bases and hit .268. While Werth has more power than Crawford, Crawford has more RBI, stolen bases and has a higher batting average than Werth.
The Phillies already have power in their lineup in the form of Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and the occasional power streak of Raul Ibanez. Their only true base-stealing threats left after the departure of Werth are Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino. Should the Phillies pursue Aaron Rowand, the only speed in the outfield would be Victorino in center field.
Rowand has clearly lost some speed over the years and Ibanez is relatively slow thanks to age. Crawford can help stabilize the outfield and also add a very strong arm.
Crawford could be a strong fit in Philadelphia if they are willing to pay the money now. Philadelphia has always been a team that focuses on the present more so than the future and the addition of Crawford could help them make another run for the World Series in 2011.
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