Philadelphia Phillies

Phillies GM reacts to Jonathan Papelbon's repeated requests to be traded

Published Jul. 14, 2015 9:01 p.m. ET

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As Philadelphia Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon uses his All-Star appearance as a platform to echo his desire to be traded to a contender, what does general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. think of Papelbon's public pleas?

"I understand his issue. The man wants to go play for a contender. That's why he signed with us," Amaro said on Philadelphia's 94WIP on Tuesday. "That was what we sold him when we were having discussions to bring him here to Philadelphia. At the time, I felt like we were one of the best clubs in baseball, and tried to add one of the best closers available. We did. And sadly, we haven't lived up to our part of the bargain. I can understand why he would want to go play for a contender. He's not a kid, and he wants to give himself every opportunity to grab another ring."

Although Papelbon's consistent public nagging might have quelled some teams' interest in the 34-year-old closer, Amaro assures that a good portion of teams are still interested in acquiring him.

"There's a marketplace for him. There are some teams that like him; there are some teams that are not interested," Amaro said. "There have been some ongoing discussions with several teams, and there continue to be. There's live discussions going on right now regarding Pap. I do believe that there's enough of a market that we could probably get something done.

" … Even though he gets a little verbal sometimes, the fact of the matter is when he's in between the lines, he's as good as there is, and he's pitched very, very well this season."

While Amaro patiently addressed Papelbon's case in his radio interview, he emphasized that Papelbon isn't entitled to a trade merely because he requests one.

"Our goal is to try to add young players and I know what is requested is to go, but as far as I know, unless they changed the basic agreement, there's nothing in anybody's contract that says that if you request to be traded you have to be traded," he said.

Among the various comments Papelbon made Monday at a media day session for the All-Star Game was a remark suggesting that the Phillies now have to go through a variety of approvals before completing a trade.

The inference that Amaro doesn't have the authority to make deals on his own is something he vehemently rejects.

"Pap is a very good pitcher. He doesn't know anything about the front office," Amaro said.

(h/t CBS Philly)

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