Player B over the last three seasons: 191 IP, 1.152 WHIP, 2.78 ERA, 9.6 K/9, 4.00 K/BB
Player A contract this offseason: 4 Years, $50 Million
Player B contract this offseason: 1 Year, $8.5 Million
By now you realize player A is Jon Papelbon and player B is Ryan Madson, and hopefully by now you realize how the Reds made out like bandits getting Madson and how Ruben Amaro may be regretting his decision to give Jon Papelbon all that cash.
It's true that Jon Papelbon is a more "experienced" closer having saved 106 games in that time frame compared to the 47 that Madson has saved. But it's also true that the closer is a roll, not a skill, and over the past few seasons, Jon Papelbon and Ryan Madson are very, very similar while on the mound. Apparently the Phillies and Madson had a 4 Year, $44 Million offer on the table, which makes the discrepancy between the two contracts now make a little more sense. However, the bottom line is that the Reds played the closer market perfectly, cautiously waiting for the right deal to come around while the Phillies' felt the need to get their closer ASAP and impulsively offered incredibly large contracts for that service.
The Phillies have an outstanding team in "win-now" mode and Jon Papelbon will likely help the team this year. But there is also that little thing called the future, and next year, when Cole Hamels could be a free agent, do you think the Phillies would like to have a little extra money to lock him up? Me too.
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