Phillies may have Papelbon suitor in Milwaukee

A $13 million-per-year closer, no matter how effective or how controversial, is a superfluous asset on a rebuilding team whose strength is its young bullpen arms.

It is no secret the Phillies have long sought suitors for Jonathan Papelbon, entering the last of the four-year, $50 million deal he signed in November 2011, the richest for a major league relief pitcher. Less than four weeks before the start of spring training, they may have found one.

The Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers, according to Yahoo Sports!, have seriously discussed a trade involving Papelbon. Speaking of Papelbon on Thursday night, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. offered only that "there's been some discussion" about the 34-year-old closer. Brewers general manager Doug Melvin has publicly stated his desire to add at least one bullpen piece.

Any trade involving Papelbon would include the Phillies paying a considerable portion of the player's salary to his new team. His contract features a $13 million option for 2016 that vests if he finishes 48 games this year, a benchmark he has reached in each of his nine full big-league seasons.

The Brewers, who on Monday dealt their No. 1 starter, Yovani Gallardo, to the Texas Rangers, are already on the books this season for $9 million they owe to reliever Jonathan Broxton.

Papelbon's contract also includes a limited no-trade clause. The Brewers are among the 17 clubs he has to approve to consummate a trade, according to multiple reports, but it is not believed he would stand in the way of a deal to pitch for a team hoping to contend. The Phillies do not expect to do so until 2017 at the earliest.

"Some guys want to stay on a losing team? That's mind-boggling to me," Papelbon said after a game in July, in Milwaukee, coincidentally enough. "I think that's a no-brainer."

The Phillies would likely get in return only a midlevel prospect, depending on how much money would change hands in the trade. If they continue to try to add starting pitching depth to the upper levels of their farm system, Brewers farmhands Taylor Jungmann, Tyler Wagner or Jorge Lopez, righthanders between the ages of 21 and 25, fit that criterion.

Over his three seasons with the Phillies, Papelbon has converted 106 of 121 saves and recorded a 2.45 ERA. He overcame decreased velocity last season to convert 39 of 43 saves with a 2.04 ERA.

A team trading for Papelbon also takes on the personality questions that follow him. Major League Baseball in September suspended him seven games and fined him an undisclosed amount after his infamous crotch-grabbing incident in what amounted to his third-to-last outing of the season.

"He takes a lot of heat for some of his antics, and maybe rightfully so, but as far as him being in the clubhouse and affecting our guys in the clubhouse," Amaro said this week, "he's been very, very good with helping our kids grow and learn what it takes to be a quality bullpen piece and to build a quality bullpen."

Another incentive for the Phillies to consummate a trade is to clear the way for Ken Giles to close games.