Bryce Harper and Jonathan Papelbon had to be separated by teammates after a dugout altercation during the eighth inning of today’s game between the Nationals and Phillies. As the MLB.com video shows, the two exchanged words before Papelbon grabbed Harper by the throat and shoved him towards the dugout wall. The issue apparently stemmed from Papelbon’s displeasure that Harper didn’t run out a fly ball that inning. Somewhat incredibly, Papelbon remained in the game to pitch the ninth inning and was rocked for five runs (two earned) in what ended up as a 12-5 Nationals loss. Here’s some reaction from around the game to this bizarre incident…
- “I’m in the wrong there,” Papelbon said afterwards to reporters, including MLB.com’s Jacob Emert. “I’ve talked to Bryce and told him how we feel and we’re on the same page now, which is good….Sometimes in this game there’s a lot of testosterone and there’s a lot of intensity that spills over, and I think that happened today. For me, I can’t allow that to happen in the middle of a game. You handle that after the games or allow the manager to handle that. In that light of it, I’m wrong.”
- The Nationals have no choice but to part ways with Papelbon in the wake of this embarrassing situation, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman opines. The team may have to end up releasing him outright and eating the $11MM owed to Papelbon for 2016 given that his trade value is at rock-bottom. As Heyman notes, “several – and I mean several – major-league GMs declared at deadline time they wouldn’t ever consider touching Papelbon” due to his reputation as a bad clubhouse personality.
- Matt Williams initially told reporters that the situation was just “a family issue,” though he later clarified that he didn’t see the incident when it actually happened (via tweets from James Wagner of the Washington Post) and only saw footage after his initial talk with the media. Williams stated that he’s “livid about it” and wouldn’t have allowed Papelbon to keep pitching had he initially seen what happened. As you might expect, Williams was heavily criticized for both letting Papelbon stay in the game and then criticized again for not being aware of the altercation.
- Williams is widely expected to be fired in the wake of the Nationals’ rough season, though Heyman reports that the Lerner family considered firing Williams weeks ago but decided to stay the course since the team was still in the pennant race. GM Mike Rizzo will return in 2016 for “one more chance,” though Heyman wonders if the Lerners could or should make a next managerial hire themselves since Rizzo hired Williams.
- The Papelbon/Harper skirmish “will be a symbol of an entire season when everything went wrong and every hidden structural weakness in the franchise was exposed,” Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post writes. Rather than write off 2015 to injuries and Williams’ managerial tactics, Boswell argues that the Nationals should take the opportunity to examine factors like “organizational culture” to payroll flexibility to even Ted Lerner’s tendency to negotiate free agent contracts directly with agent Scott Boras.
If they plan to fire Williams then there is no reason for them not to do it tomorrow morning and have an interim for the final week. And whilst they are at it; they should send Papelbon home for the final week. It could be a rough winter for this club.
… agreed. Send a message today.
I am curious what team will sign him since not many even want to sign him. By the sounds of this, I doubt any club wants to sign him
You assume Papelbon wants / needs to be signed. Hes made $80 million in his career and has a world series ring. Hes a competitor, so I wouldn’t assume he wants to hang up his cleats, but it might not be much of a choice at this juncture.
if he were to become available, especially cheaply, there are several teams that need bullpen help, and the free agent market, in terms of late inning relievers, is pretty scarce. As a Marlins fan, I would love to have him here, for multiple reasons, including wanting to see what he would say about the organization and south florida sports fans. That being said, he likely wouldnt want to be here.
Might as well as re-hire Ozzie Guilien and go full idiot again.
Like sigurd said, he might not have much of a choice and might have to hang up his cleats. If another team wants to sign him, then go for it. But seeing the way he acts with other people makes me doubt he will sign with another team
I’m sure a few teams would end up considering taking a flyer on him if he’s available at the league minimum
Detroit Tigers should definitely consider it. Worst bullpen in the league.
Papelbon has been a headache for a while now but most of the time his ego can be dealt with because he does deliver results. But if he’s picking fights with his teammates then he’s wandered into red flag territory. I’d have to imagine the Nats will have to cut their price tag to trade him.
It’s a real shame his elite success from 2006-2009 went right to his head. I recall (perhaps overly-fondly) the early Papelbon being a much nicer guy
Not sure which is worse: Papelbon thinking it’s OK to confront and then physically attack a teammate in front of everyone, or Williams somehow being completely unaware of seriousness of the confrontation, or perhaps even that it happened at all, until after reporters had spoken to him after the game. Papelbon’s is inexcusable, Williams’s just indicates that he has no idea what is going on, and that no one else on the team sees fit to clue him in.
Papelbon was considered a good teammate in Boston, just a bit flaky. The guy has pretty good numbers, at a lower salary a number of teams would be interested.
The thing with Harper seems likely due to something that transpired previously. Perhaps Harpers remarks after the Machado incident which kind of threw him under the bus as he was appealing the suspension
I don’t think they will cut Papelbon loose. Rather, I think you will see him in a secondary role next year, probably not closing, and if an opportunity arises, because of another team’s misfortune, then he can be traded. Acquiring him was a flat-out mistake. But this isn’t a Josh Hamilton situation where he’s just going to be given away. Either way, Harper is a franchise player, and while he can be a little mouthy himself, he’s carried the team for the year, and his effort has been extraordinary. Papelbon picked the wrong time, and the wrong guy, to pretend to have some leadership skills. As for Williams, he needs to be fired the day after the season is over.
If Papelbon is not closing, I could see him develop into an even bigger jerk. His ego is too big to ever accept a perceived demotion. I think they will eventually just have to cut him because anyone that might want him will know that the Nats do not want him anymore.
I don’t disagree. But he’s getting paid to do a job, and he can either show up and throw the ball when asked, or he can decide to retire.
He’ll pitch so that he will get paid. You can expect a lot of nasty comments made to the media though.
Disagree, this is absolutely a situation where you just give him away like Hamilton, Storen too. How can you not see this is a nuclear situation? There’s ZERO chance Papelbon accepts a non-closer role next year. Williams needs to be fired today, for not even seeing this happen. He’s been the worst manager in the game all year long and cost his team a playoff spot. His players other than Harper have no confidence in him and now they’re eliminated, what’s the point?
Bottom line: The Nats need to throw away and re-do their entire bullpen. Give away Papelbon and maybe get a couple warm bodies for Storen and hopefully pray they have enough names the Reds would want for Aroldis and sign him long term.
I think there are a lot of owners out there who have extreme reluctance to toss away $11M. And I don’t think Papelbon is in a position to demand anything.
Grabbing someone by the throat and jacking them into a dugout wall isn’t “leadership skills”.
I said “pretend to have some leadership skills” I didn’t think that implied praise.
While I don’t believe his actions can even be described as pretending to show leadership I did completely miss your use of “pretend”.
I does change your sentiment quite a bit.
With apologies.
Papelbon’s wife probably has a short leash at home when something is asked of her jk.
Not funny.
Ease up Dude , this Ignorant Hick as&ho&2, deserves no Better !
So, last comment did not go through for whatever reason. But whatever. The idea that a 2 bWAR RP’er has no value just because he is a bad “teammate”, supposedly, makes no sense. If the Nats were to release him for example, they are on the hook for his 2016 salary and he would be available for the minimum. Plenty of teams would be interested in him
Like I tried to say before, he was well thought of by at least some of his teammates with the Red Sox although a bit of a flake. He went for the money as many players do, which is why the Red Sox let him go, as they did with Ellsbury, but for a reasonable price I bet the Red Sox would be interested again. Perhaps not as closer.
I think he has seen enough of the Nats and would like to be gone, but that’s speculation on my part. I suspect there is something more between Paps and Harper that we do not know about, but with Paps I expect when his career ends he will have a lot to say about it, and many other things.
Best Trade Ruin Tomorrow Jr, ever made !
The trojan horse has delivered!
Jonathan Papelbon is a gamer. He wants to win, and he has a lot of fire. He is kind of a d***, but I would want him on my team. You know he is doing everything he can to try and win the game, and he is passionate about how things should be done. Bryce Harper, as great of a player as he is, is also kind of a d***. The combination led to this situation, but as Papelbon put it, its something that happened in the moment and now they move forward from it.
I disagree with the notion that they have to get rid of him ASAP. I also disagree with the notion that more than several GMs wouldnt even consider him
Its really funny to me that baseball players make more money than everyone yet if an office worker choked out a fellow employee who he felt was not doing his job right, he’d be fired on the spot.
I don’t think you know the definition of “choke out”
Papelbon is a gamer who is just following another unwritten rule of baseball. Just like how you must throw at a guy when he stares at his home run for 2 seconds too long. You must choke a teammate for vaguely throwing you under the bus by saying he’s probably going to get retaliated upon next, and then lazily runs out a fly ball. It’s in the unwritten rulebook, dammit! It must be followed or else!
Another point that is not mentioned about Pabelbon is the hurt relationship the Nationals have with Drew Storen from trading for Pabelbon. If Drew Storen still wants out even if Pabelbon gets cut, then the Pabelbon trade will be even worse than it already is.
HMMMMM……According to Jonathan Papelbon, “Sometimes in this game there’s a lot of testosterone”. That shouldn’t be an excuse for grabbing anyone, especially a teammate by the throat and shoving him into the dugout. If that’s his excuse, then it looks like a “neutering” might be in order to get his testosterone in check. :S
I definitely wouldn’t want him on my team if this is how he treats his teammates. A clubhouse needs to be united, not separated, in order to win. Teammates need to bond and gel together and cheer one another on, become a family. This is when we see teams win.
Tell Harper the same thing would you. He needs to know this is a team sport and not every thing needs to be about him and his whiny ass. Maybe he should show some leadership and hustle when his team is fighting for wins and do it ALL THE TIME. Not when he wants.
Not to mention being smart enough not to run his mouth to the media about Papelbon when everyone knows he is a hot head.
Yes, I totally agree with that. Bryce Harper has a giant head with all the hype that has been said about him.
Regardless of what has been said and done, the kind of attitude that was shown during the game needs to be saved for behind closed doors.
This about says it all for the Nationals. Terrible choice bringing in Papelbon, let alone the displacing of Storen. Fire Williams and several front office folks – Nats need big change in the leadership department.
This was the final act to a disastrous season for the Nationals.
The last line says all you need to know: dealing with Scott boras.
Should Pabelbon go? All depends on how Harper truly feels about the situation.
Does he truly view Pabelbon as a brother who lost his cool? Or does he wish to never deal with Pabelbon again?
A team would need to be desperate to pick up Papelbon, but the Angels may very well be that team. With Street and Smith out until season’s end, the Angels lack a proven bullpen arm that can face the pressure. If they can get him at an affordable rate for next year, it also solves one of their offseason issues.
Knorr