Tap here to access our MLB Trade Tracker, which includes all trades and rumors leading up to the July 31 trade deadline.
Not all deadline moves are made to address an area of weakness.
The Washington Nationals' acquisition of closer Jonathan Papelbon on Tuesday was not made out of necessity, but rather to further solidify what had already been a strength.
Related: Phillies trade All-Star closer Papelbon to Nationals
While adding a pitcher of Papelbon's pedigree should help the Nationals quest to reach their first World Series in franchise history, incumbent Drew Storen isn't thrilled about losing the closer's role to his new teammate.
"Really, all I'm gonna say is that obviously I'm aware of the move," Storen told reporters after it was announced the Nationals acquired Papelbon.
"I've talked to (Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo) about it. I've talked to my agent. We've had some ongoing discussions. Until those have progressed, I'm just gonna leave it at that and no comment for now. But as the situation goes, I'll keep you guys posted."
Storen replaced Rafael Soriano at the back end of the bullpen late last season and has held the closer's role since. He's expected to get some save opportunities, but will be used almost exclusively as a setup man to Papelbon.
"Papelbon is our ninth-inning pitcher," Rizzo said. "Drew will pitch the ninth inning at times when Papelbon's not available and be our setup guy in the eighth inning as we constructed today."
| Player | ERA | IP | SO | WHIP | SV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Papelbon | 1.59 | 39.2 | 40 | 0.98 | 17 |
| Storren | 1.73 | 36.1 | 44 | 1.01 | 29 |
A five-time All-Star and the Philadelphia Phillies' all-time saves leader, Papelbon is in the midst of one of the best seasons of his 11-year career and already has a World Series championship on his resume. That type of experience made manager Matt Williams confident when appointing Papelbon as the new closer.
"We want to make our team better, so it provides us opportunity to do that," Williams said. "It's not easy, but Pap's gonna pitch the ninth. All-Star closer. Been in pressure situations his whole career, so we're happy to have him."