The Washington Nationals made a move to help their playoff push by acquiring Jonathan Papelbon from the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies received AA pitcher Nick Pivetta.
Papelbon was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 4th round of the 2003 MLB Draft and made his debut with the club in 2005. He is in his 11th season and the Nationals are the 3rd club that he has been on. He has 342 career saves, including 17 this season in 17 opportunities.
Papelbon has limited no-trade protection in his contract and he has stated that he would only consider a trade if he continues to close. He may reconsider that if a team is willing to pick up the 2016 option instead having to meet the requirements of the current vesting option.
The Nationals have a closer in Drew Storen, but the rest of the bullpen is in flux. They had David Carpenter as their setup man, but he is on the disabled list with shoulder issues. Papelbon will take over the closing duties for the Nationals, with Storen setting him up.
The Nationals are currently trying to fend of the New York Mets in the National League East. The Mets upgraded their offense by trading for Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson, then they improved their bullpen by acquiring Tyler Clippard. The Nationals are currently 2 games ahead of the Mets.
Papelbon’s contract runs through the end of the season with a vesting option for 2016.
Statistics are courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and MLB.com.