The Washington Nationals made a splash (which some would call ill-advised) when they signed Jayson Werth to a seven-year, $126 million contract. The former Phillie has said that he is ready to contribute right away. Nationals fans would hope so, considering that Werth has a no-trade clause in his contract. Yet, there is another clause that Werth inserted into his negotiations with the Nationals. Let's just say money isn't the only guaranteed number.
Via ESPN, Werth has a clause in his contract that guarantees him his No. 28.
He went to the trouble of getting his uniform number -- which would be 28, in case you don't have this sort of thing memorized -- written into the contract.
So what's up with that? Ever since he switched to No. 28 (in 2004) from the No. 13 he once wore with Toronto, his teams have gone to the postseason five times, Werth told us. So why would he take any chances on losing his hold on a number with that much winning in it?
Werth's number was actually already taken by Mike Morse, but Werth will take Morse's No. 28. Morse will now wear No. 38.
It's good that Werth is superstitious; the Nationals could use all of the help they can get from a former World Series champion, but the number that will matter is however many wins it takes the Nats to finally earn a playoff spot. I have a feeling it will take much more than 28.