Phillies Are Shopping Jonathan Papelbon: Possible Destinations
It’s no secret several Phillies players, namely Jonathan Papelbon, could move by July 31 since Philadelphia sits 17 games under.500 and little chance for recovery exists. What remains a well-guarded secret is whether major markets like New York or Los Angeles will clear roster room for someone like Papelbon, 34, who has a marketable 337 saves in his career. According to ESPN, several teams are in the mix for Papelbon’s services.
Toronto Blue Jays
Sitting close to.500 most of 2015, Toronto is starting to see life come from their starting pitching. Edwin Encarnacion seems to be playing better, Donaldson is putting up monster numbers but one component is missing: an effective closer. Beyond Brett Cecil, Toronto has nothing close to Jonathan Papelbon talent in their arsenal of ninth inning arms. Moving 31-year-old Dioner Navarro and some farm club talent would probably get the job done since Philadelphia indicated they’d carry most of Papelbon’s $13 million contract next year, although next year’s $13 million vested option would probably be absorbed by the receiving team.
Chicago Cubs
Theo Epstein wants to win now. Jed Hoyer and Theo watched Papelbon get drafted into the bigs with Boston, meaning the “bro code” may apply here. After all, Lester had front office ties and enough love for Chicago to help them produce a World Series championship, so why not nab Papelbon? Yes, Chicago just allocated $4.1 million to Rafael Soriano, but he’s not even back in America yet and has actually dropped in production since his 45 save campaign in 2010. I’m thinking an error-prone Starlin Castro and CJ Edwards would get Papelbon away from Philadelphia, but don’t expect Theo to come off much more, regardless of what the speculation around Papelbon dictates.
Washington Nationals
Drew Storen has turned into the relief man extraordinaire, but if Max Scherzer and the other Nationals starters can keep a lead into the seventh, why not have Papelbon setup Storen? Washington seems to own their own cache of cash, but could easily dump a few Triple-A bums into Philly’s arms and handle a substantial part of Johnathan Papelbon’s salary. Putting Washington into the sweepstakes could come down to whether Doug Fister can tame his flexor muscle issues and how well Strasburg can handle close games.
The MLB trade deadline is looming. Where your team sits in the standings, coupled with their current salary caps and injury reports, will dictate whether they’re in Buy or Sell mode. The Inquisitr will have the latest buzz surrounding Papelbon and others as the deadline approaches.
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