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Latest On Jonathan Papelbon

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Former Nationals reliever Jonathan Papelbon remains unsigned, though he hasn’t been on the open market for long and is still assessing his options. While a near-term signing may still be anticipated, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com notes on Twitter that the veteran’s timetable for joining a new organization appears to have shifted back somewhat.

One team that will not be considering the former star closer is the Rangers. According to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, via Twitter, Texas has no interest whatsoever.

The Red Sox, though, continue to be linked to a pitcher who made his name in Boston. As Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald reports, GM Mike Hazen told WEEI’s Lou Merloni and Mike Mutnansky that the club is “just kind of in a wait-and-see” situation after having expressed interest.

Hazen did note that the Sox are looking at ways to bolster their pen, with the idea being to build as much depth as possible. It has seemingly been tough going on the fickle August trade market, making the freely-available Papelbon a more appealing target.

Though questions have understandably been raised not only as to Papelbon’s effectiveness but also whether he’d be a good clubhouse presence, his former employers and teammates haven’t shied away. After a previous statements of support from Cubs lefty Jon Lester, Red Sox slugger David Ortiz says that his former teammate would be a welcome addition, as ESPN.com’s Scott Lauber writes.

Jonathan Papelbon Nearing Decision; Red Sox Have Interest

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4:13pm: The Red Sox certainly appear to have fairly strong interest, as manager John Farrell told reporters today that he has spoken with the former Boston standout. Though it isn’t immediately clear whether the club has an offer on the table, that level of dialogue suggests there could be a match.

11:53am: Via Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com/CBS Chicago, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said he hasn’t been told of any talks with Papelbon but also wouldn’t totally discount the notion of the right-hander joining the Cubs (Twitter link). Red Sox skipper John Farrell, meanwhile, more strongly hinted at the possibility that Papelbon could join his club (Twitter link via MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM): “We’ve talked about it, there’s some real strong points to ’Pap’ that could be an addition here.”

9:37am: Recently released Nationals right-hander Jonathan Papelbon is nearing a decision and is likely to sign with a new team in the next 24 hours, reports Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Bradford doesn’t specify how many teams have made an offer or are showing interest in the 35-year-old.

The Nats cut Papelbon loose last week, and he’s been somewhat speculatively linked to the Cubs, while Bradford reported not long after his release that Papelbon would welcome a return to Boston. (Notably, he writes today that it’s not clear if the Sox have any interest in a reunion.) It seems likely that Papelbon will land with a contending club, as there’s little sense in a rebuilding team adding a 35-year-old to its bullpen just seven weeks before he hits free agency. And from Papelbon’s perspective, joining a club with a shot at the postseason is a logical course of action.

There are plenty of red flags surrounding Papelbon, who has seen his fastball velocity, strikeout rate, walk rate and ground-ball rate all trend in the wrong direction over the past couple of years. The result in 2016 was an earned run average that quickly ballooned from 2.56 to 4.37 after he allowed nine runs in 3 1/3 innings over his final five outings with Washington. Many have questioned Papelbon’s clubhouse presence over the years as well, particularly following last year’s dugout altercation with Bryce Harper, but Nationals teammates defended Papelbon’s character to to the media following his release, and Cubs lefty Jon Lester gave him a nice endorsement as a teammate just yesterday. Beyond that, whatever team signs Papelbon would only need to pay him the pro-rated portion of the league minimum for the remainder of the season, so the most he’d cost a new team would be just $130K through season’s end.

Red Sox Place Steven Wright On 15-Day DL

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The Red Sox have sent right-hander Steven Wright to the 15-day disabled list, placed first baseman Hanley Ramirez on the bereavement list for three days, and optioned left-hander Roenis Elias to Triple-A Pawtucket, reports Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald (Twitter link). Corresponding moves are not yet known, adds Mastrodonato.

Wright, whose DL stint will be retroactive to this past Monday, hasn’t pitched since Aug. 5. The 31-year-old knuckleballer threw a complete game shutout against the Dodgers in that outing, but he has been dealing with soreness in his throwing shoulder of late.

“With there being no structural damage, it’s bursitis, so it’s a little inflamed,” Wright explained to Rob Bradford of WEEI on Saturday. “If the pain doesn’t go away, it’s just about if it’s tolerable enough to pitch through. Right now, I don’t know. I right now, it’s 50-50. It all depends on how I feel when I get off the mound.”

The absence of Wright is certainly a negative for the Red Sox, who pummeled Arizona, 16-2, on Sunday for their third straight win. Boston is now 64-52, two games up on a Wild Card spot and two back in the American League East, but its starters entered Sunday with a middling ERA (4.47), and that includes Wright’s sterling 3.01 mark through 146 2/3 innings. With Wright down, the only member of the Red Sox’s staff with a sub-4.00 ERA is Rick Porcello (3.40). However, despite his run-prevention issues this year, David Price remains a more-than-capable option. Meanwhile, Eduardo Rodriguez has fared well over the past month, and costly July trade acquisition Drew Pomeranz has turned in back-to-back encouraging starts after a rough beginning with the team.

For at least the time being, the Red Sox will turn to beleaguered righty Clay Buchholz to fill Wright’s void. Buchholz was a quality starter as recently as last year, but he has shuffled between the rotation and bullpen during a forgettable 2016. In 75 2/3 innings as a starter this season, the 31-year-old has logged a 6.30 ERA, 5.67 K/9 and 4.05 BB/9. He’ll take the mound Thursday in Detroit.

Dave Dombrowski: Jonathan Papelbon "Worth Investigating"

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  • On the heels of his Saturday release from the Nationals, free agent reliever Jonathan Papelbon would welcome a return to Boston, reports Rob Bradford of WEEI (Twitter link). Papelbon, whom the Red Sox selected in the fourth round of the 2003 draft, had a highly successful run with the club from 2005-11. During that seven-season, 429 1/3-inning span, the right-hander converted over 88 percent of save opportunities (219 of 248) and compiled a 2.33 ERA, 10.67 K/9 and 2.41 BB/9. He’s far less effective now, having lost a few miles per hour on his fastball and his job as Washington’s closer before it released him. However, Boston’s bullpen has posted a 4.14 second-half ERA – the sixth-highest figure in baseball – notes Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Moreover, the Red Sox are without injured setup man Koji Uehara, and closer Craig Kimbrel has scuffled while dealing with soreness in his surgically repaired left knee. Given their issues, Papelbon is “worth investigating,” Sox president Dave Dombrowski told reporters, including Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).

Yankees, Red Sox Take Contrasting Approaches To Rebuilds

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The Yankees’ aggressive approach to their rebuild contrasts with the path the Red Sox once took, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal writes. This summer, the Yankees have traded veterans and acquired prospects in return, even a number of prospects who aren’t nearly ready for the big leagues. The Red Sox were in a similar position two years ago but took a different approach, dealing Jon Lester for Yoenis Cespedes (who they then sent to the Tigers for Rick Porcello) and John Lackey for veterans Allen Craig and Joe Kelly. (They did deal Andrew Miller for a prospect, Eduardo Rodriguez.) Of course, the Red Sox had a stronger core of young talent than the Yankees did at the time of each team’s series of trades — the Sox’ recent resurgence is due in large part to young talents like Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley who were already in their system. Here’s more from the AL East.

Red Sox Outright Sean O’Sullivan

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The Red Sox announced today that they’ve activated right-hander Sean O’Sullivan from the 15-day disabled list and sent him outright to Triple-A Pawtucket, thereby removing him from the 40-man roster.

The 28-year-old O’Sullivan had been on the DL with tendinitis in his left knee since early July. He’s pitched in five games for the Sox this season but struggled to a 6.75 ERA in 21 1/3 innings (four starts, one relief appearance). He’s pitched in the Majors in seven of the past eight seasons (2012 being the lone exception) in spite of sub-par results; O’Sullivan owns a 6.01 ERA with 4.4 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 in 323 1/3 innings at the big league level that have been split between the Angels, Royals, Padres, Phillies and BoSox. He has a career 4.28 ERA in 769 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level, though, making him a nice depth option for any team.

O’Sullivan has been outrighted in the past and, as such, has the right to reject this assignment in favor of free agency. However, he’s already accepted an outright assignment with the Red Sox once this season, so there’s a good chance he’ll do so once again, especially at this stage of the year.

Blake Swihart To Undergo Ankle Surgery

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Red Sox catcher/outfielder Blake Swihart will undergo ankle surgery in the coming days, manager John Farrell told reporters following tonight’s game against the Yankees (Twitter link via Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald).

The operation figures to end Swihart’s sophomore season with just 19 games and 74 plate appearances in the books at the big league level this year. Early on, the 24-year-old former top prospect had a chance to cement himself behind the plate for the Sox but eventually found himself optioned back to Triple-A to work on his defense. Upon his return to the Majors he played exclusively in left field prior to suffering a severe high ankle sprain that ultimately led to the upcoming operation.

Swihart’s season will conclude with a .258/.365/.355 batting line. He collected three extra-base hits — bizarrely, all triples — and will head into the offseason with a cumulative .271/.321/.386 slash in 383 Major League plate appearances across 103 big league games. While Swihart was near-universally considered one of the game’s top 20 prospects prior to the 2015 season, he’s yet to tap into the potential that made him such a coveted component of the Boston farm system. With both Swihart and Christian Vazquez failing to definitively seize the catching job in Boston — Sandy Leon and Bryan Holaday are currently splitting catching duties for the Sox, with Ryan Hanigan on the disabled list — the long-term outlook behind the plate in Boston remains somewhat muddled.

Swihart has spent the bulk of the 2016 season either in the Majors or on the Major League disabled list and as such will accrue more than enough service time to take him past one full year of service. He’ll still have a minor league option remaining next season, so the Sox could give him further time to work on his game in the minors if he doesn’t grab hold of a roster spot in Spring Training. Boston controls Swihart through at least the 2021 season, and depending on how his time is divided between the Majors and minors next season, he could end up in Super Two territory, making him arbitration eligible four times.

Surgery Likely For Swihart; Benintendi Earning More At-Bats

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  • Red Sox manager John Farrell suggested to reporters this weekend that surgery could very well be required to fix the severe ankle sprain that is currently plaguing Blake Swihart (links to Twitter via Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald and Tim Britton of the Providence Journal). Swihart, who is waiting for a second opinion on the injury, hasn’t played since June 4, and surgery would seemingly jeopardize his chances of returning at all in 2016. Boston had been playing the 24-year-old top prospect in left field after concerns about his glovework behind the plate surfaced.
  • Mastrodonato writes today that outfielder Andrew Benintendi, who made his big league debut last week, could begin to find himself in the Red Sox’ lineup with greater frequency. The Sox planned to ease Benintendi into the Majors by limiting his at-bats against left-handed pitching, but Farrell explained that the “easing-in period has happened relatively quick,” referencing Benintendi’s hot start to his big league career. Extra playing time for Benintendi would likely come at the expense of Bryce Brentz, with whom he’d been slated to platoon early in his career.

Red Sox Release Casey Janssen

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The Red Sox have released veteran reliever Casey Janssen, as per the International League’s official transactions page.  Today was the day that Janssen could opt out of his minor league deal with the Sox, Brendan McGair of the Pawtucket Times reported (Twitter links), and the righty elected to look for an opportunity with another team.

Janssen has signed minor league contracts with Boston and San Diego in 2016 but has yet to appear in the majors this season.  He posted solid numbers at the Triple-A and low-A levels for the Sox, delivering a 2.87 ERA, 6.9 K/9 and 3.00 K/BB rate over a combined 15 2/3 innings at both levels.

Best known as a longtime fixture in the Blue Jays bullpen, Janssen served as Toronto’s closer from 2012-14 before losing the job after struggling in the latter half of the 2014 season (due in part to an illness picked up during an All-Star break vacation).  He posted a 4.95 ERA over 40 IP out of the Nationals bullpen in 2015 as his fastball velocity and ground ball rate declined for the second straight season.

Red Sox Rumors: Hill, Robertson, Beltran

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  • Left-hander Rich Hill, whom the Dodgers acquired from Oakland on Monday, would’ve preferred to go to either the Orioles or Red Sox at the non-waiver trade deadline, reports Cafardo. Those are two of the journeyman’s many former major league employers, and the 36-year-old Massachusetts native revived his career with Boston in 2015. The Orioles were in on Hill prior to the deadline and are likely to target him this winter if he hits free agency as arguably the premier starter in a weak market.
  • Before the Red Sox picked up reliever Brad Ziegler from Arizona on July 9, they were looking at White Sox closer David Robertson as a possible trade target, Cafardo writes. For now, Robertson remains in Chicago. The 31-year-old still has $28.5MM remaining on his contract and hasn’t been as effective this season as he was previously, having compiled a 3.97 ERA, 10.13 K/9 and 4.57 BB/9 in 45 1/3 innings.
  • The Red Sox aggressively tried to acquire right fielder and designated hitter Carlos Beltran before the archrival Yankees traded him to the Rangers, according to Cafardo, who adds that a deal was close enough that Boston expected it to happen. Of course, after failing to land Beltran, the Sox promoted elite left field prospect Andrew Benintendi to the majors.

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