Papelbon Ready For 'Cat-And-Mouse' Negotiations With Red Sox

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Seven big league closers have contracts for $10 million or more and it is expected that Jonathan Papelbon will join them.

"Heck yeah, as far as what me and my brain are thinking,'' Papelbon said, "but I haven't even sat down with my agents [Seth and Sam Levinson] yet. We don't even have a number in place. There haven't been any discussions between me and the Red Sox and my agents at all."

As Papelbon's salary climbs ever higher, he understands that negotiations might turn more contentious.

"The thing they'll probably pull is tell us, 'We've got an up-and-coming guy in [Daniel] Bard, this and that. That's fine with me. That's what they have to do in this cat-and-mouse game. But when you look at what I've done so far, you can't compare it to many other closers besides Mo [Rivera].''

Via ESPN

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