Phleeing for Philly by Jared Carrabis
Reports indicate that Jonathan Papelbon has agreed to a deal with Philadelphia Phillies


I'm not surprised, are you?

We all knew that this day was coming. I've been hitting on this for months, and even years here on SoxSpace. While some readers said that I was "bashing" Jonathan Papelbon, it turns out that I was just telling it like it is. We've all heard him drop hints from as early back as 2008. Papelbon wanted to "establish the market" for closers, that he "wouldn't mind" pitching for the Yankees, and that he was in the game to "make as much money" as he could while he was there.

All signs pointed towards Papelbon darting towards the highest bidder once he hit free agency, and alas, that is what we have here.

Kudos to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com for getting the scoop on Papelbon agreeing to a deal with the Philadelphia Phillies pending a physical. Salisbury also reports that the deal is worth somewhere in the four-year, $50 million range.

I guess we should have seen the writing on the wall when Papelbon was partying it up on Bourbon Street in New Orleans right after blowing the save that ended the Red Sox' season that he wouldn't be back in Boston.

To borrow a line from Bill Belichick, it is what it is. Now we move on, because we have no choice but to. On the bright side, the Red Sox get a first-round pick from the Phillies as compensation, as Papelbon was a Type A free agent.

So where do the Red Sox go from here? Certainly not promoting Daniel Bard to the closer's role, that's for sure. With Papelbon being the first big-name closer to be taken off the market, still remaining are (Type A free agents in bold) Heath Bell, Jonathan Broxton, Matt Capps, Francisco Cordero, Frank Francisco, Ryan Madson, Joe Nathan, Jon Rauch, and Francisco Rodriguez.

While Heath Bell prefers to stay on the west coast, he "would love" to pitch in Boston or Philadelphia, which is evidently no longer an option for him.

If I'm the Red Sox, I go out and get a Heath Bell or a Francisco Rodriguez on short years so that I'm not handcuffed by a big money, long term deal with a closer in their 30's. K-Rod is 30, but Bell is 34. Your gut tells you that K-Rod would be the better sign based on his age, but his violent delivery hasn't helped his aging process in baseball, while Bell remains an elite closer in his mid-30's.

The bottom line is that Papelbon is going to be a weapon that is going to be more difficult to replace than I think fans realize at this point in time. I feel like I'm repeating myself when I say this. But once again, good luck to you, Ben Cherington.

Follow @Jared_Carrabis

Tweet

Published on November 11, 2011

---

Tweet