MLB Trade Rumors: Philadelphia Phillies May Have Difficulty Trading Jonathan Papelbon

The MLB hot stove is heating up and one of the names possibly on the move is Philadelphia Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon. But while a report earlier today stated the the Phillies are trying to move the veteran closer, Ryan Lawrence from the Philadelphia Daily News reports that a trade might not be as easy or realistic as one might think.

There’s no secret now that the Phillies want to get younger and rebuild, and moving Papelbon’s contract elsewhere and adding younger pieces in return seems like a good idea. But that contract might be too large to move to a willing partner as the $26 million he’s due over the next two seasons isn’t going to be a figure that teams jump at.

Per Lawrence’s column on Philly.com:

"Unless the Phillies eat salary – they did before with Jim Thome, Adam Eaton and Geoff Jenkins – and find a trade partner, it would seem highly unlikely for them to trade Papelbon."

Papelbon is one of the worst closers in baseball right now and given his age, there’s little upside left to his career. So factoring in all of that plus the fact that closers seem to surface out of different bullpens each year, we find there isn’t a real need for Papelbon and trading him might be hard.

That’s not to say it won’t happen, but gone are the days of his dominance and no one really wants to pay $13 million per season for an aged pitcher worth far less.