Major League Baseball

Cubs, Jays interested in Papelbon as Phillies 'prepared' to trade him

Published Jun. 10, 2015 7:37 p.m. ET

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By Liam McGuire

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports is reporting the Philadelphia Phillies are prepared to trade Jonathan Papelbon and are willing to eat a significant amount of his contract to do so.

He says the Phillies are talking to the Toronto Blue Jays and the Chicago Cubs, but no deal is close yet.

Rosenthal also notes that former Boston Red Sox GM Theo Epstein is familiar with Papelbon, and that the Cubs brass is impressed with the closer’s competitiveness. He writes Philadelphia is more likely to deal with the Blue Jays however, as they may have a better offer and it would get Papelbon out of the National League.

The reason the Blue Jays may be inclined to make this deal would be because the Phillies ability to eat a significant portion of the still $8 million dollars remaining owed to Papelbon this season. As Rosenthal notes, the reliever also has a vesting option for $13 million once he finishes 26 more games, and he’s already at 22, so it’s likely this move would be a bit more than just a rental.

Here’s more from Rosenthal:

Papelbon has pitched extremely well out of the bullpen for the Phillies this year, posting 12 saves in 24 games while sporting a 1.13 ERA and a 10.9 K/9 vs a 2.3 BB/9. While he’s getting a bit long in the tooth at 34-years-old, for the amount of criticism he’s received, he’s been consistently good for the Phillies over over the last four seasons.

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