Phillies sign Papelbon for $60 million+, closer ships out of Boston

After a deal for incumbent closer Ryan Madson fell apart on the operating table, the Philadelphia Phillies needed to address the ninth inning somehow. So they shifted their attention to free agent Jonathan Papelbon and negotiated an even richer contract for him Friday. Reporter Jim Salisbury of CSN Philly had it first: the Phillies agreed with Papelbon on a four-year deal, plus a vesting option for a fifth season, that would be worth at least $60 million. Assuming the deal gets done, Jayson Stark of ESPN says, it would be the largest free-agent contract for a reliever in history, beating out the deal B.J. Ryan got from the Blue Jays in 2006. That deal was a disaster. Because Papelbon is a reliever, this one could be too. There's no more inconsistent commodity in baseball than a relief pitcher. If he passes a physical, which we should expect him to, the contract would take Papelbon away from Fenway Park and the Boston Red Sox, where his his dominance delighted home fans and...