Jonathan Papelbon Closing The Deal

Jonathan Papelbon, a 30 year old Louisiana native signs a contract with the Philadelphia Phillies for 4 years and $50 million with a vesting option for another year which could bring the total contract value to $63 million. Being realistic, this is the largest contract a closer is going to receive this offseason. Now K-Rod received a 3 year $37 million deal not too long ago, how did that work out for the Mets? Closers are like any other player a risk to sign, an overpriced risk at that. There are plenty of other closers available in free agency this year and a lot of good options out there, Heath Bell, Joe Nathan, Francisco Cordero, Frank Francisco, Ryan Madsen, K-Rod, and the list goes on. I believe that a guy who pitches roughly 60 innings a year should not be making over $10 million a season. I also believe closers are easier to find than one thinks.  A lot of closers come out of nowhere and perform well in this “pressure” situation. Look at Mariano Rivera’s illustrious career that started no better than any scrub that didn’t make it. Now how’s he doing? Pressure in the 9^th inning? As if any other part of the game there is a lack of it. Personally I believe you should put your best pitcher in when you need to shut down a team, whether it is the start of the 9^th inning or the middle of the 7^th with the bases loaded and one out, I mean this could be a make or break at bat for the ball game. The Red Sox were smart to let Pap go. They can now spend the money elsewhere, possibly in RF, DH, or for starting or relief pitching. Also Papelbon was a type A free agent which gives the Sox more picks in Junes rule 4 draft, which will help them restock their farm system a little. They also have a perfectly viable option in Daniel Bard who since 2009 has pitched nearly the same amount of inning, had nearly the same ERA, homeruns allowed, and K’s as Pap. If you check it out, it really is nearly identical. So my view on closers and the Papelbon situation; The Phillies overpaid, no one should be surprised about that, and the Red Sox did well to let him go. Jonathan Papelbon is a great pitcher, but he isn’t worth overpaying for. He will have a good career with the Phillies, I’m sure, and I wish him the best.  Now everybody should go read “Moneyball,” and learn how to value players correctly.