Report: Jonathan Papelbon files grievance against Nationals to recoup salary
Jonathan Papelbon’s relationship with the Washington Nationals just became a lot more unstable. The 35-year-old reliever has reportedly filed a grievance against the organization for suspending him for four games without pay at the end of the regular season, according to WEEI.
Papelbon received the suspension after getting into a dugout altercation with outfielder Bryce Harper during the eighth inning of the club’s September 27 game against the Philadelphia Phillies. The following day, general manager Mike Rizzo announced that Papelbon had been suspended four games.
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At that time, the team released a statement saying the suspension would be “without pay.”
According to WEEI, Papelbon believes “there is no precedent of a player having his salary withdrawn after such a team-issued suspension.” If Papelbon can prove teams have never issued this harsh a penalty for a team suspension, he has a shot at winning the grievance and receiving the money the team refused to pay him for those four games. The date for the hearing has not been set at this time.
Any normal player with Papelbon’s stats would usually draw plenty of interest on the market. Papelbon is 35, and will make $11 million next year, but he’s still an effective reliever. Papelbon posted a 2.13 ERA over 63 1/3 innings split between Philadelphia and Washington.
But this is Papelbon we’re talking about here. Due to the dugout brouhaha, he was already considered to be on thin ice in the organization. There were already rumors floating around that the Nationals were looking to shop Papelbon at the winter meetings, but his track record of questionable antics have all but killed any trade value he had left. The grievance could give the Nationals extra motivation to ship him off, but those issues still remain.
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No matter what the outcome, the grievance is certain to strain an already shaky relationship between Papelbon and the Nationals. It also brings this issue back into the spotlight after the club has fought so hard to put it in the past. Dusty Baker was brought in to lead the team both on and off the field, and Harper reportedly reached out to Papelbon in order to quash any remaining concern between the two.
All that progress the club made over the past few months will likely be undone due to the grievance. The Papelbon/Harper brawl is back in the forefront now. One of the two sides will ultimately “win” the grievance, but every party involved could look like a loser once the issue is resolved.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
