The Phillies’ lone All-Star is doing his best to force his way out of Philadelphia.
Closer Jonathan Papelbon, never shy about asking for a trade from the cellar-dwelling Phillies, ramped up his campaign Monday in Cincinnati ahead of the All-Star Game.
“I signed up with a team that won 102 games (in 2011), and I expected certain things,” he said. “It didn’t happen, and I’ve tried to ride that ship and keep my mouth shut as much as I can, but it’s time for the Phillies to you-know-what or get off the pot.
“I feel like three years is plenty enough time to ride it out, so to speak. If the fans don’t understand that, I can’t really side with them.”
Papelbon added, “The Phillies have got to make a decision. You’ve got to go one way or the other. You can’t be in limbo and sit here and say, ‘What if we do this or what if we do that?’ You’ve got to make a decision, and you’ve got to go with it.
“I know that we’ve got a new president (coming, Andy MacPhail). We’ve got a new interim manager (Pete Mackanin). We’ve got all this change supposedly happening, but I don’t see any of it yet.”
Papelbon, 34, is making $13 million this year, and his $13 million option for next year would vest if he finishes 48 games in 2015. At the break, he has finished 29 games, and he is 14-for-14 in save chances with a 1-1 record and a 1.60 ERA.
He is 120-for-135 in save chances over his 3 1/2 seasons with the Phillies.
Papelbon began his major league career with the Red Sox in 2005, and he was 218-for-246 in save opportunities over seven seasons in Boston. He helped the Red Sox win the 2007 World Series, going 1-0 with four saves and a 0.00 ERA in seven postseason appearances that year.