Grotewold wrote:en route to nuded

Luzinski's Gut wrote:Deluded and diluted.

usctrojans31 wrote:If the team thinks that Papelbon will have any effect on the TV deal, it is obvious that this club's management is even more diluted than we think. I'd venture that almost every single fan realizes that Papelbon is a luxury that this team cannot have, and if moving him gets the team a good player, it is for the best. If Papelbon can yield Castellanos or Bradley in return, it is a no brainer move.

FTN wrote:the team improved last year after pentz and victorino got traded.

rolex wrote:

Doll Is Mine wrote:MLB Rumors...

Buyers should not expect Papelbon to be available, Gammons further tweets."

In other words, if Dombrowski wants Pap, he is going to have to pay for him. It could well be that Amaro realizes that he was messed over in the Pence deals and it won't happen again.

td11 wrote:dom's walk rate is 11% this month

phatj wrote:

td11 wrote:dom's walk rate is 11% this month

Nice. It feels like he's really had an off month, but that's more because of the crazy May he had than his performance. He's at .850 for June.

smitty wrote:One more advantage of trading Papelbon is it will allow DeFratus and Savery to assert themselves as bullpen leaders.

Rangers: It's possible that the Rangers would consider giving up Profar in a deal headlined by Lee, who had great success in Texas and is signed through 2015 with a club option for 2016.
Red Sox: Similarly, the Red Sox would have to think about giving up top prospect Xander Bogaerts if Lee was made available.
Tigers: This seems like an obvious landing spot for Papelbon, but would Detroit part with Castellanos for an expensive closer? Considering the Tigers' problems in the ninth inning, they might.

Dream deal(s)
Cliff Lee to Texas Rangers for Jurickson Profar and/or Jonathan Papelbon to Detroit Tigers for Nick Castellanos.

There are very few teams that could take Lee’s salary as well as have the elite prospects Philadelphia would want. The same holds true for Papelbon, who is still signed for three years and $39 million. But if the Phillies trade both Lee and Papelbon, Castellanos or Profar must be part of the return. Certainly if the Tampa Bay Rays could get Wil Myers for James Shields, then the Phillies should be able to ask for a similarly elite prospect for Lee or Papelbon, if not more.

As a former GM, I can remember taking the same position as Amaro, refusing to trade core players, that is until an elite prospect was dangled. Funny how those strong positions GMs take can change when the right offer heads their way.