The Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, wants the Washington Nationals to trade Jonathan Papelbon. Like so much else in Washington, saying it is much easier than doing it.
Why? Because Jerry Crasnick reports that Papelbon has the following teams on his no-trade list: Athletics, Blue Jays, Brewers, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Giants, Indians, Marlins, Orioles, Phillies, Pirates, Rangers, Rockies, Tigers, Twins, White Sox and Yankees.
That’s 17 teams he doesn’t want to be traded to. No word on how many teams have Papelbon on their “we don’t want to trade for HIM” list, but it’s probably more than 17. Which makes this whole “the Nats want to trade Papelbon” notion that has been gaining steam since the end of the season pretty darn difficult, one assumes.