"The strange existence of Jonathan Papelbon.

Some have even suggested this could be Mike Lowell II, but there are many reasons it won't be.

Certainly, the Red Sox have shopped and/or listened on Paplebon this winter, according to major league general managers, and even went so far as to offer Mariano Rivera a three-year deal for $51 million, with the idea that if they landed the 41-year-old, Papelbon would be gone. Papelbon is in his final year of arbitration, and there's a chance his agents will ask for about $11.5 million. The Red Sox have never gone to arbitration with Theo Epstein as GM, therefore they'll likely settle at around $11 million for a closer who blew eight saves last season."