Drew Storen doesn't offer ringing endorsement to Nationals' trade for Jonathan Papelbon
The acquisition of closer Jonathan Papelbon is headline news for the Washington Nationals, but how Drew Storen handles his demotion could become the bigger story.
The Nationals made a bold trade on Tuesday to land Papelbon from the Philadelphia Phillies and immediately handed him the keys to the closer's job held by Storen.
Washington general manager Mike Rizzo told reporters he spoke to Storen before making the deal and that his erstwhile closer took the news "like a pro."
While that may be true, Storen's first remarks in the wake of the trade hardly sounded like those of a player who had fully embraced the move.
“All I’m going to say is, I’m aware of the move and I’ve talked to Mike about it. I’ve talked to my agent about it,” Storen said. “We’ve had some ongoing discussions. Until those have progressed, I’m just going to leave it at that. No comment for now. But as the situation goes, I’ll keep you guys posted.”
Storen will be relegated to setup duties despite a stellar campaign in which he has converted 29 of 31 save chances with a 1.73. Oh, and it should be noted that the Nationals are 46-0 when leading after eight innings.
