Phillies trade Jonathan Papelbon to Nationals
The Nationals have agreed to terms on a trade that will send Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon to Washington. CBS Sports MLB insider Jon Heyman has confirmed the deal first reported by FOX Sports. The full terms of the deal, including who the Phillies will get in return, have yet to be confirmed. MLB.com reports that the Phillies will receive RHP Nick Pivetta in the deal.
The Nationals’ bullpen has hardly been a disaster this season, as the relief corps presently ranks seventh in NL in bullpen ERA and fourth in bullpen WAR. As well, closer Drew Storen has thrived in 2015: 1.73 ERA and no unearned runs in 36 1/3 innings, 4.89 K/BB ratio, and a 94 percent success rate in save situations. In that sense, consider this to be more of a depth play by GM Mike Rizzo.
As for the 34-year-old Papelbon, this season he’s pitched to a stellar 1.59 ERA with 40 strikeouts against just seven unintentional walks in 39 2/3 innings. For his career, he owns an ERA+ of 186 and is 12th on the all-time saves list with 342.
Papelbon is owed the balance of a $13-million salary for 2015. As for 2016, his contract contains $13-million vesting option. According to FOX’s Ken Rosenthal, though, the Nationals will pick up Papelbon’s option for 2016, albeit at a reduced cost in exchange for assurances that he’ll remain in the closer’s role after the trade.
Moving forward, the ZiPS projection system available at FanGraphs tabs Papelbon for a 3.04 ERA in 23.0 innings over the remainder of 2015. Given his recent success when it comes to limiting hard contact off the bat, he’s a good bet to out-perform those numbers. Papelbon’s coped with modest velocity loss in recent seasons by relying more on his slider and also changing the shape of his slider so as to get more drop. That’s helped him keep up the dominance even in his thirties.
Jonathan Papelbon is closing for a contender once again. (USATSI)
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