Is the Grass Greener?

This past week, there have been several free agent signings in baseball that have made the headlines. In particular, last Sunday's signing of Jayson Werth by the Washington Nationals. For those who don't know, the Nats signed Werth to a seven year, $126 million deal. Great for Jayson Werth? Apparently, but it tells me a bit about his priorities.

First and foremost, I don't begrudge him or any other player from maximizing their payoff. Careers are short, owners are willing to pay, and it's free enterprise at its finest. When I first heard the signing, I immediately thought of the deal Alex Rodriguez signed with the Rangers in 2001 for $252 million over 10 years. The Rangers were last in their division. This deal nearly bankrupted the Rangers and they were unable to sign players to surround A-Rod. He was finally dealt to the Yankees in 2004 but they had to eat another $67 million of his contract.

So Jayson Werth is a very rich man after playing well for the Phillies the last couple of years. Unless lightning strikes Washington, he will not sniff the playoffs for many years. Given their history, perhaps never again in his career. He has a couple of good players surrounding him, but nothing like the Phillies where he was an important, but not the most visible cog on a championship team. The biggest question is whether the Nationals can sign anyone to support him? They have drafted well (since they have the worst record in baseball) but even a phenom like Stephen Strasburg is not without risk. He will be out most of the 2011 season following Tommy John surgery. We should ask Mr. Werth how he feels about playing in front of 10,000 fans a night in August rather than sell outs with the Phils. I suspect the Nationals can finish last in the division with or without Jayson Werth.

I hope I don't sound like a grumpy Phillies fan. I didn't expect him to re-sign with us anyway. I'm just not sure that $126 million will make the grass greener in Washington. This may be a helpful lesson to all of us on motivation. It appears that Werth's motivation is financial security. Could he have done that with a winning franchise? Hard to say. In business, we need to understand what drives an individual to work for a particular organization. In most I've worked for, it's security, but not riches. Some are motivated by the mission and won't get rich, but will be satisfied to support the cause. As a leader, you need to figure this out for each individual. Sometimes, there may not be a fit.

I hope Jayson Werth finds happiness and job security with the Nationals. Let's hope history doesn't repeat itself or he'll be a Yankee in three years.