WASHINGTON -- When the Washington Nationals released Jonathan Papelbon on Saturday, it was all about the bottom line.
No, not that bottom line. This was anything but a money decision. With a salary of $11 million this year, Papelbon was slated to earn $3.3 million over the remainder of the season. But because baseball contracts are guaranteed, the Nats are on the hook for that money, regardless. While that seems like a lot of dough to throw out the window for a guy that’s not even on your roster, it was already a sunk cost. Since the acquisition of All-Star closer Mark Melancon, Papelbon had pitched twice in two weeks, both times in low-leverage, mop-up situations. In other words, the Nats were already paying Papelbon to essentially do nothing. That doesn’t change with his release.
So punting Papelbon had nothing to do with dinero. Instead, it was all about the other bottom line. The one you always hear about in professional sports: winning.
“It was a baseball decision,” said general manager Mike Rizzo, standing in front of the first-base dugout in the sweltering D.C. heat Saturday afternoon. “A roster move needed to be made when we needed a fifth starter for the first time in a couple weeks. We went with what we felt was our best 25 players, which was our best seven bullpen players. The business of baseball is you've got to cut a really good player, a really good veteran, a really good teammate like Jonathan Papelbon.”
Whether Papelbon is a good teammate is an issue that has been debated at length in the court of public opinion. The verdict in the District, ever since he put a choke hold on MVP-to-be Bryce Harper last September, is that he’s not. That he should’ve been cut during the offseason. Or traded. Or strapped to a raft in the Anacostia River and sent downstream. Anything to get the D.C. Strangler (as teammate Jayson Werth jokingly referred to Papelbon in a postgame interview earlier this season) out of town. But talk to those in the Nationals clubhouse, and you’ll get a different verdict.
“That's such a joke, guys,” said ace Max Scherzer, visibly perturbed, when asked if Papelbon’s presence in the clubhouse caused issues this season. “He's not a distraction whatsoever. He comes here to play every single day. He works his absolute tail off and competes on the mound for us. All that stuff last year, that was just a media circus. We were a hundred percent behind him. We understood all of his intentions and he was great for our team. He was great for everybody in this clubhouse. To sit here and say he was a bad teammate or anything like that, it's garbage to me.”
Dusty Baker echoed Scherzer’s sentiments.
“He was a great teammate,” the Nats’ skipper said of his released reliever. “He was popular with his teammates. They knew that he had their back, and they had his. So we wish Pap the best. He wished us the best. Wanted us to win it. That was his parting words. He was a big part of what we had accomplished already.”
Until he wasn’t. This offseason, Rizzo was steadfast in saying that despite what happened with Harper last year, Papelbon was still a part of the team and would remain so. Maybe it was because the Nationals couldn’t find a trade partner who was willing to take Papelbon and his $11 million salary off their hands (they reportedly tried). Maybe it was because, off-field issues be damned, Papelbon was an experienced closer who was still pretty proficient at carrying out his on-field duties (Rizzo’s public explanation). But once that proficiency disappeared, well, it didn’t take long for the Nats to cut ties.
In his first seven appearances after returning from the disabled with an oblique strain in early July, Papelbon threw seven scoreless innings, earned three saves in three tries, and even picked up a win to boot. Then the wheels came off. Along with the axles and the hubcaps and the chassis. Over a span of three appearances during the final week of July, Papelbon allowed seven earned runs in a grand total of one inning of work. He retired just three of the 15 batters he faced and was charged two losses and a blown save. In the last of those three outings, on July 28, he was pulled in the ninth inning after facing just three batters.
Said Baker after the game: "I'm sure he felt badly, but I had to do what I had to do to win the ballgame.”
For the record, Washington won that ballgame 4-2, with setup man Shawn Kelley cleaning up Papelbon’s mess to get the save. Less than 48 hours later, the Nationals traded for Melancon -- not because of what Papelbon did to Harper last season, but because they had to do what they had to do to win. And we’re not talking about just one game, here. We’re talking about the whole shebang.
Heading into the weekend, Washington’s 7½-game margin over the Marlins was the second-largest division lead in all of baseball, behind only the Cubs. In a National League East that’s even less competitive than the women’s 800-meter-freestyle final in Rio, the Nats look like a lock for the postseason. If they make it, it won’t be the first time they marched into the playoffs with high expectations.
In 2012, their first postseason appearance since moving to D.C., their division lead was never less than three games over the final two months of the season. In 2014, they finished with the best record in the NL and won the division by 17 games. Both times, though, they bowed out earlier than expected in the National League Division Series. Both times, the back end of the bullpen imploded in crucial situations. Rizzo wasn’t about to let that happen again.
Not with a stacked starting rotation that’s anchored by Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg and is as good as any in baseball. Not with a balanced offense that features the top two hitters in the NL (Daniel Murphy, Wilson Ramos). Not with a surprisingly sound defense that leads the majors in fielding percentage. This time around, the bullpen would not be the weak link. Not again. Hence the Melancon trade.
Prior to Saturday, since coming over from Pittsburgh two weeks ago, Melancon had been circuit-breakers-off (even better than lights-out). In five appearances, he had allowed just one hit over five scoreless innings, striking out seven, walking none and earning two saves in two chances -- unless you count saving the Nats bullpen. In that case, he was 3-for-3.
As for Papelbon, it’s almost as if he were never here. By the time the Nationals clubhouse opened at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday, he was nowhere to be found, his locker already cleaned out. Whether he gets another opportunity with a different team -- save or otherwise -- remains to be seen.
“I hope he does,” said Baker of Papelbon, whose 368 saves are ninth all time, “because he was hoping to get to 400 saves this year. There aren’t that many guys that are in the top 10 of their profession. So he’s done some great things in his career.”
Then Baker and the Nationals went out and beat the Braves 7-6 in Game 1 of the post-Papelbon era. For the record, Melancon picked up another save, but this time around it wasn't pretty. He came on in the ninth with two on, nobody out, and the Nationals ahead 7-3, then proceeded to give up consecutive hits that made it a one-run game. Still, at the end of the day, the Nationals added another W to their bottom line.