Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: Stretching Rules

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Getting Around the Process

More from Tomahawk Take

I have a rant this morning… one that most of you won’t care about, but when a rant rears its ugly head, all that matters is getting off one’s chest.

The good news is that it has nothing to do with Dansby Swanson, or the Braves. It specifically involves Jonathan Papelbon.

We are told that sometimes today, perhaps even before this virtual ink becomes dry, Papelbon will select a new team and will sign on with them for at least the remainder of the season.

Have you thought through exactly how we got to this point?

First off, there was the poor performance: it was Papelbon’s own miscues that led the Nationals to consider upgrading their bullpen. It seems they now have, too, with the addition of Mark Melancon.

At the time of that trade, Washington was said to have spoken with Papelbon and found that he was okay with the move. Apparently that happy reaction didn’t last long once Melancon starting closing games.

You know the rest of the story: the two parties came together and negotiated a release from his contract. He was cut loose on Saturday.

The Way it’s Supposed to Work

At this time of the year, teams request trading waivers on a player. If there are no claimants, the team is free to trade the player to any other club. If there is a claim, the claiming team and the waiving team (the Nationals) can try to work out a deal.

It is not known if Paps cleared waivers. If so, then my argument here is moot, but there is certainly ample reason to think that he was claimed:

He’s a “rental” – a free agent at the end of the year
He’s due under $3 million for the rest of the year
Relievers – particularly veteran closers – have been in high demand
Multiple parties want him now

So it is likely a team was out there who tried (and failed) to get Papelbon from Washington in accordance with the rules of engagement for August trading.

If that team fails to win the services of Papelbon this week, I would think they would be in the right to file a grievance against Papelbon and MLB.

Papelbon has effectively subverted the process by complaining enough to get released. Once that was done, he was free to sign – at his choice – with anyone. That’s not what would have happened under normal circumstances.

Not the First Time this Summer

The Alex Rodriguez release is another example of this odd circumstance, though that comes with a substantially different situation – namely that interest in ARod’s services is tepid at best and that he was released for strict performance issues and not behavioral reasons.

Still, MLB needs to take steps to insure that the process is honored. If Papelbon was claimed and a deal was not forthcoming, then you could argue that this scenario played out similarly to a second waiver request from the Nats – non-recovable waivers. Still, there would be a claiming team involved, but this time they would immediately win the player… with no choice on his part.

Next: Did the Braves Jump too Early on Swanson?

Forcing a waiver claim process on Papelbon now would be the correct way to resolve this mess – and set a much better precedent than in simply allowing bad behavior to win out and allow him to do as he pleases. MLB should intervene.

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