The team said in a statement that Jonathan Papelbon’s behavior on Sunday was “unacceptable.”
Washington Nationals pitcher Jonathan Papelbon was suspended for the rest of the seasonafter Sunday's dugout brawl with his teammate, Bryce Harper.
Greg Fiume / Getty Images
Papelbon grabbed Harper by the throat in their own dugout on Sunday after the right fielder was out on fly ball in the eighth inning.
Papelbon also shoved Harper into a bench before the players were pulled apart by their teammates.
After the game however, Papelbon shrugged off the incident.
“I grew up with brothers, he grew up with brothers, I view him as a brother,” he told reporters. “And sometimes in this game, there’s a lot of testosterone and things spill over.”
The Nationals lost the game to the Philadelphia Phillies 12-5.
After the incident was proclaimed to be an "embarrassment" by ESPN and others, the Nationals said Monday that they are suspending Papelbon without pay for four games.
The team's general manager, Mike Rizzo, said in a statement that the pitcher's behavior was "unacceptable."
"That is not at all in line with the way our players are expected to conduct themselves, and the Nationals Organization will not tolerate it in any way," he said.
The statement didn't address the criticism fans have levied on Nationals manager Matt Williams for leaving Papelbon in the game after the attack on Harper.
After the game, Williams explained during a press conference that he left Papelbon on in “because he’s our closer.”
Later, Williams tried to explain that he did not see the severity of the attack on Harper and if he had he would have pulled Papelbon from the game immediately.
Greg Fiume / Getty Images
In addition to the four game suspension by the Nationals, Papelbon has dropped an appeal on this three-game suspension for throwing at Orioles third baseman Manny Machado’s head last Wednesday.
With the Nationals' four-game suspension and MLB's three-game suspension, Papelbon will be out for the rest of the season.
The Nationals acquired Papelbon from the Phillies mid-season, when the Nationals still were favored to win the NL East, and the Nationals are on the hook for $11 million for the closer next season.
Upon acquiring Papelbon, Williams gave Papelbon the role of closer and moved Drew Storen to setup reliever. During the second half of the season, Williams refused to deviate from those roles.
Jacquelyn Martin / AP
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