Phillies moving on to Papelbon?

It was widely believed earlier this week that the Philadelphia Phillies were poised to sign a contract with Ryan Madson for four years and about $44 million. However, some reports say a deal was never in place and that Ruben Amaro backed out of the deal.

Now, according to Jayson Stark on Twitter, the Phillies may be turning their attention to Boston Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon as they move away from Madson.

“Sources say #Phillies showing “serious” interest in Papelbon as Madson deal disintegrates. More to come at ESPN.com,” tweets Stark.

Papelbon had 31 saves last year with a 2.94 ERA, which is decent, but he doesn’t seem to be the same shutdown guy that he used to be. Madson, meanwhile, was pretty filthy all year with 32 saves and a 2.37 ERA. However, you could always look at it like he only did it for one year. Previous efforts to have him close games did not go so well.

We’ll see what happens, but right now it’s looking less and less likely that Madson will be in a Phillies uniform next year. Luckily for him, there aren’t many good closers in MLB right now so he should find a home with a nice pay check.