After a wild and wacky contract negotiation fell through with Ryan Madson, the Philadelphia Phillies turned their eyes towards Jonathan Papelbon. 'The Fish', which is the nickname Papelbon earned for the facial expression he typically has while on the mound, spent the first few seasons of his career closing with the Boston Red Sox. Pending a physical, Papelbon will make his new home in Philadelphia.
There is no deny thing that Papelbon is a talented relief pitcher and fills an immediate need for the Phillies in the ninth inning, but his antics on the field can become annoying at times. The Braves already have a heated rivalry with their NL East foes and The Fish's childlike actions on the mound may cause the rivalry to heat up even more once the games begin.
This should be fun.
Props to the Phillies for getting this signing out of the way nice and early in the offseason, but I'm guessing it will be a move they regret a season or two down the road. The original reports are indicating it will be a four-year deal worth $50 million dollars, which is a ridiculous sum of cash. Yowza.