On Monday evening, the final MLB All-Star rosters were announced and the lone Phillie on the list was closer, Jonathan Papelbon. Through the Phillies struggles this year, Papelbon has been an anchor in the bullpen, saving all 14 of his save opportunities.
Being selected to his sixth All-Star Game was a great moment for the Phillies closer, but Papelbon told Todd Zolecki of Phillies.com that he is ready to be move on to a team that will give him the opportunity to contend again.
“The front office knows where my heart is and where my mind is,” Papelbon said. “And that’s to be with a contending ball club. The ball is in the Phillies’ court, the front office’s court, or I should say Andy MacPhail’s court? I haven’t had the opportunity to speak with Andy. I wish I could have. And I would still like to speak with him. But for some reason that hasn’t been made possible for me.”
Of course, MacPhail isn’t officially calling the shots yet.
“Well, then Pat (Gillick) knows where I stand and Ruben (Amaro Jr.) knows exactly where I stand,” he said. “I think everybody knows where I’m at. I’ve always been straight forward that I want to go play for a contender and I’m not going to shy away from it. I feel like that’s my right and my prerogative to have that opportunity and, you know, it’s in their hands. The ball’s in their court. I guess that’s kind of it.”
Earlier in the season, while Papelbon rumors were swirling, he said that he would be okay staying with the Phillies to help grow the youthful bullpen, but with each loss becoming more and more frustrating the season, he has clearly seen enough and is ready to go, but only if he has the opportunity to close.
“I would be surprised,” Papelbon said, asked about being with the Phillies next month. “Yeah, that would be a pretty valid answer.”
Would he be disappointed?
“Yeah, yeah,” he said. “I would say so.”
Papelbon has a limited no-trade clause, but he reiterated it will not be an issue.
“Any team that wants me I’m willing to go to,” he said. “I just think for me there are no doors closed right now.”
Except for teams that don’t want him to close. Papelbon still has no interest in being a setup man.
Papelbon's $13 million club option vests if he finishes 48 games this season. Currently, he's at 28, so he shouldn't have much of an issue reaching that. Whether Papelbon requires that option to be picked up in a trade is yet to be seen, but one thing remains certain…he is more than ready to move on from Philadelphia. The Toronto Blue Jays have been the team with the most interest in Papelbon.
