Jonathan Papelbon: Did Philadelphia Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jump the Gun?

Since assuming the role of general manager following the Philadelphia Phillies‘ 2008 championship season, Ruben Amaro has made the team anything but boring.  

Rube’s consistent, bold moves have brought the Phillies into the pantheon of such big-market, big-spending teams as the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs.  

As evidenced by his acquisitions of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Hunter Pence: when Ruben Amaro wants a player, Ruben Amaro gets a player.

While Amaro has proven to be an excellent, merciless tradesman, he does have one recurring flaw as a baseball executive: a lack of patience.

The “I see that toy, I want that toy, I’m going to throw a tantrum until I get that toy/lollipop/middle-reliever” thought process that a five-year-old goes through when taken to the store is the same thought process that afflicts Rube when he goes to the bargaining table with free agents and players with expiring contracts down the road. 

We saw it when he outbid himself super-early on Ryan Howard (back when he still had two intact Achilles tendons), and when he pounced on the elderly Raul Ibanez for more than 10 million a year over three years (when Pat Burrell and Bobby Abreu later got deals for two years, $8 million per year and one-year, $5 million, respectively).

You can add this offseason’s blitzkrieg signing of closer Jonathan Papelbon to that list.

Don’t take that the wrong way, though; Papelbon is one of the best closers in the game right now, and a guy I’m thrilled to know will be wearing a Phillies uniform next year.  

However, Cinco Ocho signed for a guaranteed three years and $41.5 million more than ex-Phillies closer Ryan Madson got just two months later.  

This comparison looks even worse for the Phillies when you consider that closer is a volatile position, where players usually have short peaks, only pitch around 60-70 innings a year and are routinely replaced during the regular season by guys who go on to become the next big thing.  

Case in point, Madson, who entered the offseason as one of the most sought-after free-agent relievers, likely would have entered last season as the set-up man if Brad Lidge were healthy.

Another tidbit to think about: before Papelbon, B.J. Ryan previously received the largest contract ever for a relief pitcher.  It’s not a good thing that you’re saying “Oh yeah, that guy, whatever happened to him?” 

Exciting as it was that Amaro locked up his new crush early, it would have been more prudent for him—and the Phillies’ future financial flexibility—to have waited until the market thinned out.  

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