Say hey, baseball: Jonathan Papelbon could finally be traded

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Jonathan Papelbon’s four-year, $50 million contract was going to be moved someday. Either he was going to lose effectiveness and not be worth his salary to the Phillies, or the Phillies would continue to hand out silly contracts and underrate the value of youth on the roster and turn into a joke that didn’t need an expensive closer. Papelbon doesn’t get as many swings and misses as he used to, but it hasn’t slowed him down one bit: he’s going to be traded to the Brewers, most likely, because the Phillies followed the latter pattern for just a little too long. They’ll need an expensive closer again at some point, but not while Papelbon is under contract.

Nothing has been finalized yet, and the Blue Jays are said to be involved to a degree, but chances are good that the Phils are going to move Papelbon. They don’t need him, and there are too many would-be contenders out there who desperately need another relief arm to stabilize their bullpen. The failure of the 2014 Tigers to do anything but embarrass themselves in October is fresh in the minds of plenty of teams, and Papelbon -- who the Tigers considered but ultimately avoided acquiring last summer -- could help another team avoid their fate.

Papelbon is in the final year of his deal, but he does have a vesting option for 2016 that could kick in easily. If he finishes 55 games in 2015, the $13 million option vests, or if he finishes 100 games total between 2014 and 2015. He finished 52 games a year ago for a losing club that didn’t need a closer as often as a contending team would, so unless he gets hurt, expect that option to kick in and give whoever acquires him a second year of Papelbon.

The Brewers plugged their first base hole from a year ago, and the NL Central has plenty of competent teams, but no dominant ones. Patching up the bullpen Papelbon style could go a long way towards a wild card berth or another run at the NL Central title, and this time the Brewers might actually be able to pull it off.