Former six-time All-Star almost traded to Cubs? |
The Chicago Cubs are in the mix with numerous teams for potential relief help in the coming weeks before the trade deadline on August 1.
Rewind to last season and Jon Lester urged the Cubs to acquire his former Boston teammate and buddy Jonathan Papelbon. Lester thought he would be an excellent fit for the Cubs, and the organization would help him calm some of his destructive temperament. “Pap’s a good dude,” Lester said to reporters on Friday. “A lot of the stuff that has kind of followed him around is maybe a little misconstrued. He’s obviously a strong personality. He’ll definitely tell you what’s on his mind, which I love. We get our asses powdered enough – I don’t need my teammates to do it. “I love Pap. I thought he would have been a good fit. Joe and ‘Boz’ (pitching coach Chris Bosio) and all of us would have really helped him fit in here. I think the fan base would have been really good for him. “Theo asked me about him. And then maybe like a week later I hadn’t heard anything, so I went (to Theo) and (said): ‘Hey, man, I think this would be great,’ and vouched for (Papelbon again).” The Cubs ended up losing out on the Papelbon sweepstakes to the Nationals last season as he was too costly financially at $11 million. For the 2016 season, Papelbon has a 3.28 ERA with 16 saves with 19 strikeouts and a 1.34 WHIP. For his career, he has a 2.38 ERA with 365 saves, 796 strikeouts, and a 1.03 WHIP. He is currently on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to June 13, due to a right intercostal strain.
