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 The move means Papelbon, acquired from the Phillies in a July trade,
has played his last game of the season in a Nationals uniform. The
team also said Papelbon dropped his appeal of a separate three-game
suspension issued by Major League Baseball (MLB) for hitting Manny
Machado of the Baltimore Orioles with a pitch last Wednesday.
With just seven games left for the Nationals, a team that entered
the season with World Series aspirations but has barely maintained a
winning record, the season is over for Papelbon.
Harper, a top contender for National League MVP honors who leads the
league in batting average, homers and runs scored, flied out in the
eighth inning of Sunday's 12-5 loss to the Phillies. Afterward,
Papelbon began shouting at Harper from the dugout for what he
believed was Harper's failure to run hard.
The two exchanged words and Papelbon lunged at his teammate,
grabbing Harper's throat and shoving the outfielder back toward the
bench.
Teammates pulled the two apart. When Papelbon went out to pitch the
ninth inning, the crowd at Nationals Park booed the six-time
All-Star. Harper was replaced in the lineup, and, as a punishment,
held out of Monday's 5-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds though not
suspended.
"What happened was unacceptable," Nationals General Manager Mike
Rizzo told reporters on Monday. "I think this was an isolated
incident. And I think Jonathan will learn from this and react
differently the next time."
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Papelbon's three-game MLB suspension for hitting Machado began on
Monday when Washington hosted Cincinnati. His Nationals' suspension
will begin Thursday and last the remainder of the season.
Matt Williams, in his second year as Nationals manager, said he had
not seen footage of the Harper altercation until after he met with
the media following Sunday's game, which came a day after the
Nationals were eliminated from the playoff race.
"I was upset. I was appalled," Williams said on Monday. "It has been
a very difficult 24 hours for the organization. We have to get past
that. We have to fix it. We have to move forward."
Papelbon, 34, has a 2-2 record with a 3.04 earned-run average and
seven saves for the Nationals.
(Editing by Will Dunham and Eric Walsh)
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