“I ended up inviting him into my home for a meeting that lasted the better part of three hours,” Werth said. “I was not solicited or bothered or anything like that. I was hearing all the good things from friends and former teammates of mine. In the situation I was in, it would have been irresponsible not to at least hear what he had to say and give him the benefit of the doubt, meet with him. In no way was I being harassed or bothered or anything other than what I wanted. It wasn’t whatever it was said it was.”
At the start of last season, which he entered with the Phillies on the brink of free agency, Werth was a client of Beverly Hills Sports Council, specifically Jeff Borris. Werth changed to Boras midway through the season, and Boras ultimately negotiated the seven-year, $126 million contract Werth signed to play for the Nationals.
Werth was adamant the idea to swap agents came from him, and not from pressure from Boras. He reached out to Boras through a friend whom Boras represents, he said, and did not hear directly from Boras until he contacted Boras. Werth felt the ESPN.com story unfairly portrayed the transaction — that Boras stole him away from Borris.
Werth is one of at least a dozen players in the Nationals organization, including three draft choices this year who have yet to sign, who employ either Boras or his Boras Corp. as representation.
