Jonathan Papelbon wants out of Philadelphia and reiterated his desire to leave with some strong words for the Phillies' front office at an MLB All-Star Game press conference Monday.
“S— or get off the pot,” the 34-year-old closer remarked several times in a 30-minute discussion with the media.
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Papelbon entered the season owed $13 million for 2015 with a vesting option of $13 million for 2016 that becomes guaranteed if he plays 19 more games this year, which has ultimately complicated his situation.
"The Phillies have got to make a decision. You’ve got to go one way or the other," Papelbon said. "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 interim president. We've got a new interim manager and we've got all this change supposedly happening, but I don’t see any of it yet."
Despite a shortage of save opportunities on baseball's worst team, Papelbon has had a productive season, posting a 1.60 ERA and 35/7 K/BB ratio in 33 2/3 innings. Still, the Phillies have only managed to win 29 games and it would serve all parties well to finally pull the trigger on a deal.