Retired Nat: Mets were Werth-less

Jayson Werth wanted nothing to do with the Mets.

Werth fired his agent before spring training, and said he called around to every team himself — except the Mets. He trained all winter only to find out many teams didn’t know he was interested in playing, he told the Howard Eskin Podcast.

“I had offers in November and I was advised by my former agent to wait — ill-advised, I guess,” Werth told the host. “Spring training came and went and by about halfway through spring training I felt like I was ready to play, so I took matters into my own hands. I called every team — you’ll love this — but one to try and get a job.

“The only team I didn’t call? The Mets … I wouldn’t play for them.”

Werth, 39, had a lot to say about baseball but didn’t talk any more about the Mets. He played the last 10 years of his career on the Phillies and the Nationals — two Mets rivals.

His agent until this offseason was Scott Boras, though Werth didn’t mention him by name. Boras, known for his hardball negotiating tactics, denied Werth’s allegations.

“Unfortunately, it appears someone has misled Jayson,” the Boras Corporation said in a statement. “We contacted all 30 teams numerous times during the offseason on his behalf, and we have phone logs, emails, and other records to back it up. We received no offers for Jayson in November, or otherwise. We are always prepared to support our work against inaccuracies spread by third parties. We understand the frustration and disappointment players can face and wish Jayson all the best.”

Werth spent a brief period of time in the Mariners’ minor league system this season before announcing his retirement in June. In his career, Werth slashed .267/.360/.455 for 229 home runs and 799 RBIs.

Later in the interview, Werth blamed former Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. for not keeping together the Philadelphia team that won the World Series in 2008 and the NL pennant in 2009.

“There’s no reason we shouldn’t have had Cliff [Lee] and Roy Halladay in 2010,” said Werth, who signed a seven-year, $126 million deal to go from Philadelphia to Washington that offseason.

“We should’ve had another reunion for the 2010 team. With Cliff, we walk away with it [the World Series].”