We all knew this day was coming, it just took a little longer than expected. After Jonathan Papelbon choked the soon-to-be NL Most Valuable Player in Bryce Harper down the stretch of the 2015 campaign, many were shocked that he made it back to the Washington Nationals to begin 2016. Now the 35-year-old closer is a free agent for the postseason push.
Papelbon is in the midst of the worst season of his career, holding a 4.37 ERA, his poorest performance since 2010 when he was still a member of the Boston Red Sox and held a 3.90 mark. That said, his FIP (fielding independent pitching) is at just 3.68, which still isn’t great, but does give hope to contenders that there may still be enough left in the tank that he could be a useful piece down the stretch.
Jonathan Papelbon’s strikeouts per nine took a large dip following the 2012 season when he put up an 11.83 K/9 rate, following that up with an 8.32 rate in 2013. Since then his strikeouts have remained fairly consistent and in 35 innings pitched this season he has a slightly higher rate than last year at 7.97 compared to 7.96 between his time with the Phillies and Nationals.
The closer’s fastball has dropped four miles an hour since he was finishing off games in the World Series for the Sox in ’07, going from an average of 94.3 to 90.9. By no means is Papelbon still the same pitcher that he once was, but in the right situation with the right team, he could still prove to be a valuable addition to a contending team’s bullpen mix.
Next: Reunion?