Chicago Cubs: Jon Lester Vouches for Jonathan Papelbon
After the Washington Nationals released Jonathan Papelbon a few days ago, there has been speculation on where the former All Star closer might end up. An old teammate, now with the Chicago Cubs, is vouching for his club to sign the 35 year-old relief pitcher.
Acquiring Jonathan Papelbon did not turn out the way the Washington Nationals had hoped. Through half of a season last year and just over half of 2016, the NL East leading team ballclub decided to cut ties with their former closer three days ago.
This move was pretty much destined to happen after the Nationals traded for Mark Melancon to work the ninth inning leading up to the trade deadline. Papelbon had an incredibly rough stint in Washington after he replaced Drew Storen last season, which included a fight in the dugout with the NL MVP, Bryce Harper.
His numbers haven’t been too good either. After piling up a couple of losses and blown saves towards the end of 2015, the former Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies closer currently had an earned run average of a 4.37 with his walk totals ballooning to close to two more free passes a game than he had averaged throughout his previous 11 seasons in the bigs.
Velocity has also been a concern as his ability to throw the heater in the mid-high 90s has almost completely dissipated. According to FanGraphs, Papelbon’s fastball is averaging out at at just under 91 mph. This is the slowest that he has thrown this pitch in his entire career. His ability to challenge hitters with the fastball has been greatly affected by is much weaker stuff. However, while his pitching arsenal has diminished, his fiery personality and arrogance have remained the same. Will this lead any team to pick up the right-hander after what they saw what he did when he went to Washington? At least one former teammate seems to think that Papelbon has something left.
Jon Lester, who was a former World Series champion with Papelbon in Boston, expressed his positive feelings towards the troubled relief pitcher in an interview with Jesse Rogers of ESPN.
"“He just gets a bad rap for what happened in the dugout. Knowing Papelbon, I’ve always had good things to say about him as a teammate, how he respects the game and how he goes about his business.”"
Lester would go on to say that he thinks his old teammate would fit in well with the Cubs stable of talented players.
"“Aroldis Chapman came in fine,” Lester said. “Mike Montgomery came in fine. People are quick to judge based on one event. They think all he does is fight his teammates.”If he was in this clubhouse, he would be very welcomed. Guys would be excited. He would have something to bring to us both on and off the field. It’s not a worry by any means.”"
Chicago clearly has a need for more bullpen help after Joe Smith, Carl Edwards and set-up man, Hector Rondon, have all given up late leads in recent days. But could Papelbon help the Cubs win their first World Series in over 100 years?
He may not have the stuff that made him so dominant in the mid-2000s, but he isn’t a worthless player either. Most of his release probably had to do with the clubhouse fit and not overall performance, because his play was not really release worthy. His strikeout numbers are fairly high still, as he gets swings and misses exactly eight times in nine innings of play. You also have to look at what better options are out there in terms of improving your relief corps?
Making trades in August is very difficult especially because the Cubs will get the last claim on National League players due to them having the best record in the National League. Other contenders will also be looking to block off any possible additions, which would make working out a deal much more difficult.
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There are usually not many other pitchers out there at this time of year who have the pedigree of a Jonathan Papelbon, even though he hardly resembles the type of reliever he used to be. Many other peripheral statistics are going in the wrong direction too. His soft contact percentage has decreased from around 18 percent to a minuscule 10 percent and his groundball rate has dropped 12 percentage points as well this season. Also, despite what Lester says, adding a player like Papelbon to a contender is a risk…just ask the Nationals. Washington was neck and neck with the New York Mets, but were immediately overtaken by the Mets directly after Papelbon was acquired. His anger and competitiveness may be starting to outweigh his production as he gets older.
Overall, the Cubs’ bullpen is not elite, but the team shouldn’t panic over a string of failed relief appearances. Hector Rondon has been good all year and even with the injury to Pedro Strop, the Cubs still have depth with the likes of Mike Montgomery, Carl Edwards and Travis Wood at the back-end among others. Adding a volatile personality like Papelbon may improve the Cubs already loaded roster, but the risk far outweighs the reward. Papelbon has been a closer for pretty much all of his time on the majors, and this may be a difficult adjustment to make with the reputation he has garnered over the years. The Chicago Cubs have been playing like the best team in baseball again for the past couple weeks and the club’s management should not be looking to add unnecessary drama to their locker room.
You can always appreciate that a former teammate is speaking up for one of his buddies so openly, but Theo Epstein and Joe Maddon would be wise to stay away from bringing in a “competitor” like Papelbon.
What do you think of Lester’s comments about Papelbon and the Chicago Cubs? Let us know in the comment section below.