For those looking for my thoughts on last night's game or how I think the Nationals will do with Werth and Zimmerman back, you'll have to wait until my next post. This post will strictly focus on a move that Mike Rizzo made yesterday that has the potential to throw a wrench into this whole season. I didn't want to write anything last night because I wanted to see if my initial reaction to the trade would change. It didn't. As I write this, I'm still confused, slightly mad, and honestly flabbergasted. Yesterday, the Nationals traded AA pitcher Nick Pivetta, their 10th best prospect, for Phillies' closer, Jonathan Papelbon. There is no doubt that the Nationals bullpen is now deeper, but to say it's better is completely dependent on how Drew Storen takes being the new set up man. There are many different elements that go into why this move doesn't make sense, why it's confusing, and why it could turn out to be one of Rizzo's worst moves as the General Manager of the Nationals.
The first thing makes me mad about this deal is that Mike Rizzo has essentially told Drew Storen "Thanks for the great first half, you have 29 saves and a 1.73 ERA, but I don't trust you, so I'm demoting you." What can this guy do to keep his job? He blows a save in the 2012 NLDS and the Nationals go out and sign Rafael Soriano, which was a disaster. He blows a save in the 2014 NLDS and Rizzo says Storen is still the closer, then mid way through a career year, he brings in what could possibly be Rafael Soriano 2.0. Nothing against Jonathan Papelbon's stats, he's 17 for 17 in saves this year with a 1.59 ERA (yes, actually lower than Storen's). With that being said, he's a 34 year old reliever with diminishing velocity and he's under contract for another year for $11 million. Not to mention, $3 million of that $11 million is deferred. If Mike Rizzo doesn't stop deferring money on these contracts, then by 2020, he's going to have a payroll of $160 million, $80 million of which are players who are either retired or not on the team anymore, but I digress. As Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post pointed out, if the Nats had acquired Craig Kimbrel or Aroldis Chapman, it still would have been a tough pill for Storen to swallow, but he would have accepted the demotion. Being demoted for Papelbon though isn't going to sit well. The bottom line here is you're left with a pissed off Drew Storen and an aging closer who you have to pay next year.
The second element to this is Mike Rizzo is now costing Drew Storen big time money. The salary difference between set-up guys and closers is huge. Storen doesn't become a free agent until after the 2016 season, so if the Nationals hang on to him, they're essentially reducing his value as much as they can so that he's cheaper in arbitration. When Storen goes into his final arbitration hearing this winter, he'll probably leave earning $7-8 million instead of $11-12 million that he could have been earning had he finished the year closing for the Nationals. That means he stands to lose $4-5 million because he won't be able to add to his save total for the rest of the year.
If I were Drew, I would have gone into Mike Rizzo's office yesterday right after the trade was completed and asked to be traded. This isn't about Storen being selfish, this is about Rizzo not trusting Storen. I don't ever want to work for an employer or boss that doesn't trust me, so why should Storen? This team needs Storen, so it's on Rizzo to smooth things over. Maybe he tells Storen that he's going for it all this year and just ride it out this year and then in the offseason he will trade either Storen or Papelbon. Who knows, but if Storen isn't on board, then the bullpen just got worse, not better.
Lastly, we have the diva factor. There is no arguing with how good and reliable Jonathan Papelbon has been over his career. There are some question marks about Jonathan Papelbon the person. There's no way around the fact that Papelbon has had his issues with the fans and the media. Then there's Papelbon in the clubhouse, which I can honestly say I don't know much about. Based on the fact that Papelbon would only waive his no-trade clause if he becomes the closer though, he sounds like a me-first kind of guy. Hey "Paps", you're getting traded to a contender and they've agreed to pick up your option for next year so how about you shut your mouth and pitch when you're asked to pitch. Mike Rizzo preaches all the time about having good guys in the clubhouse and wanting to build a great clubhouse. From everything I've read, the Nationals have a good clubhouse, so why would you bring a guy like this into it? You've automatically made Drew Storen mad and this move is going to rub a few other guys wrong right off the bat.
Good luck with this one Rizzo, you're going to need it. I wrote two days ago about the Mets making a desperation move to acquire Tyler Clippard, but this move looks just as desperate. The Phillies had been having trouble trying to trade Papelbon since last year. Not only do you give up a top 10 prospect for him, but you guarantee his contract for next year and you make your current closer upset. Again, this has nothing to do with Papelbon the player. He's shown he's reliable. This has to do with Papelbon the person and what you've just done to Drew Storen and the rest of the clubhouse. You could have given up a lesser prospect to acquire Joaquin Benoit of the Padres, plugged him into the set up role (which is his current job where he holds a 2.27 ERA), and avoided any drama. The only way this looks like a good move at the end of the season is if it brings a World Series back to Washington. Any other result is a waste of a prospect and a waste of $11 million next year that could have been used towards trying to resign Jordan Zimmermann.
No comments:
Post a Comment