Is Jayson Werth It In 2011?

In case you haven't heard, Phillies right-fielder Jayson Werth is in the final year of his contract. Werth is quickly becoming a star, and it has become apparent that the Phillies have to make a decison about what to do about his future. So far this season, Jayson is playing at an extremely high level. He is hitting .349 with 7 home runs and 26 rbis. There are many options when it comes to Jayson Werth, I'm going to analyze a few for you. Option number 1, and probably the most popular choice among the fans, would be to re-sign Jayson, and give him whatever amount of money he wants. The only problem with this is that the Phils already have a lot of money committed to guys like Ryan Howard, Roy Halladay, Chase Utley, and Shane Victorino. Jayson is also going to ask for a lot of money. Outfielder Jason Bay, who signed with the Mets during the past off-season, is making 16 million a year. Werth, who in my opinion is better than Bay, is going to ask for more than that and the Phillies are simply not going to pay that kind of money. For now, we will say that option number 1 of resigning Werth is highly unlikely. The next option for the Phils would be to let Jayson walk at the end of the year and simply bring up Domonic Brown from the minors. I really like Brown and I think he has the potential to be a solid everyday player. He had a very strong spring, and I think he has a very bright future. The only problem with Brown is that he is yet another left-handed batter, and I don't see him fitting into this lineup. The Phillies need a power right-handed batter and Domonic Brown does not bring that to this team. A more exciting option in the Jayson Werth dilemma would be to trade him. The Phillies could trade him for another top-line starter or get help in the bullpen. This seems like a pretty good option considering that he is going to walk at the end of the season and it would be better to get at least something for him. As with all the other options, there is a negative to this option as well, and that is you don't have Jayson for the end of the season. If you remove a guy like Jayson from the lineup, the team is going to suffer. Domonic Brown would be the likely candidate to replace him, but once again he would just be another lefty in an already heavy lefty batting order. The final, and in my opinion best option for the Phillies would be to trade Shane Victorino at the trade deadline, get a pitcher in return, and then be able to resign Werth. This option could work but I love Shaner and I don't want to see him go either. I want everyone in this nucleus to stay with the Phillies for as long as possible. Still, Werth is such an important part of this team and I think the Phillies have to do everything they can to keep Werth in Philly.