Jim Salisbury has had this all along.
Salisbury of CSN Philly reports that the Phillies have agreed to terms with erstwhile Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon for a four year contract worth close to $50 million, pending a physical.
The deal comes in the wake of a bizarre week where the Phillies had purportedly all but signed their own closer, Ryan Madson, to a four year deal worth $44 million, only to see the deal quashed by Phillies ownership and upper management. Or maybe it never existed at all. Schrodinger's Contract? In any event, it depends on who you believe, but get ready for some Irish jigs for the next few seasons.
All this being said, Jonathan Papelbon is an excellent relief pitcher, and is coming off his second best strikeout/walk ratio (8.7) season in his career. For his career, Papelbon has a 2.33 ERA and has accumulated 509 strikeouts in 429 innings. That dog will hunt. And he's a few months younger than Ryan Madson, so there's that, too.
With the deal, presuming the new Collective Bargaining Agreement doesn't completely nuke draft pick compensation (a big assumption), the Phillies fill forfeit their first round pick (31st overall) to the Red Sox, but stand to gain at least one when Madson and/or Jimmy Rollins leave town.