Our friends at With Leather were just as shocked as we were to learn that former Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Jayson Werth and his beard have just signed an eye-popping seven-year, $126-million contract with the Washington Nationals, perennial also-rans of the National League East.

Reportedly, executives from other major league teams are furious that the Nationals threw all this money Werth's way, feeling it's a massive overpay that will drive up salaries all over the league.

It's not that Werth isn't a very good player -- he is. However, he's also a soon-to-be 32-year-old who has never driven in more than 100 runs in a season.

The Nationals do have some interesting young players in their organization. But with former number one overall pick Stephen Strasburg to miss 2011 with an arm injury, and Bryce Harper, another number one overall pick, at least three years away from the majors, Werth would be well into his 30s by the time the Nationals might be contenders.

The argument for signing Werth is that he brings the Nationals legitimacy and a winning attitude, along with his on-field skill set. What do you think?

Jayson Werth's new contract is . . .
Completely insane -- baseball GMs never learn653 (65.9%)
Fairly crazy -- it probably won't end up being the worst contract in baseball304 (30.7%)
Justifiable -- it just might work34 (3.4%)