It is being reported that the Nats are looking to deal Drew Storen with Jonathan Papelbon remaining the closer.
Ever since the offseason began, the Washington Nationals have been looking to fix their bullpen. They have signed players like Shawn Kelley, Oliver Perez, and Yusmeiro Petit and trading for Trevor Gott in the Yunel Escobar deal, but the main question is what to do with Jonathan Papelbon and Drew Storen. Today, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports and MLB Network wrote in his column that the Nats are trying to trade Storen. Here is more from his column:
"“With Jonathan Papelbon projected to open the season as the Washington Nationals’ closer, the team is still trying to trade the man he displaced from the role, Drew Storen. Storen is projected to earn $8.8 million in his final year of arbitration, according to MLBTradeRumors.com; that’s too expensive for a number of would-be suitors.” (h/t Morosi)"
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With most of the top closers off the free agent and trade market, the Nats are running out of alternatives if they want to replace Papelbon, whom they acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies last July. Even though he was 7-for-9 in save opportunities and 24-for-26 when you combine his Phillies’ number, his 2015 season around the league was defined by putting his hands on Bryce Harper’s throat on September 27 against Philadelphia.
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As for Storen, he had a great first half when he was the closer as he had a 1.89 ERA and converted 27 of his 29 save chances. However, when he was demoted to the setup role because of the Papelbon deal, he struggled mightily. Storen had a 5.82 ERA in his final 23 appearances and he broke his thumb on a locker room door after the September 9 game against the New York Mets at Nats Park.
While Papelbon has become someone the fans do not want to see Opening Day in a Nats’ uniform, it’s becoming more likely he would be with the team due to no reported trade interest unless the Nationals cut him.
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Storen is easier to trade because other teams probably feels he needs a new beginning and he showed last year he can handle the closer role full time, despite his postseason failures from years past. Unless there is a surprise deal for Andrew Miller from the Yankees or Mark Melancon from the Pirates before spring training, I would expect Jonathan Papelbon will be the closer when the Nats open camp in February down in Viera.