WASHINGTON – Before Jonathan Papelbon choked Bryce Harper in the dugout – becoming a billboard for the dysfunctional Washington Nationals last September – Jon Lester lobbied for the Cubs to acquire the All-Star closer/WWE-style villain at the trade deadline.
If all that bad blood is in the past, Washington is now dealing with a new crisis, putting Papelbon on the disabled list with an intercostal strain before Tuesday’s game against the Cubs at Nationals Park.
With the Philadelphia Phillies looking to unload a toxic asset last summer, president of baseball operations Theo Epstein asked Lester for his thoughts on Papelbon, how that might work for manager Joe Maddon and what the response would be in the clubhouse.