Short- and long-term implications of Storen then Papelbon

It certainly was intriguing television late Wednesday night when MASN cameras caught newly acquired closer Jonathan Papelbon and former closer-turned-set-up man Drew Storen sitting right next to each other in the Nats bullpen at Marlins Park.

At first, they weren't speaking when the camera flashed to them. They were just sitting next to each other. Then, it appeared Papelbon was asking Storen a question. Storen responded and Papelbon nodded as if he understood. As the video continued, you saw them interact and appear like teammates would act to each other with the new guy in town.

Then Thursday, leading 1-0, Storen shut down the eighth, which got Papelbon even more stoked to go out and shut down the Marlins in the ninth, as the new Nats closer told MASN's Dan Kolko after the game.

For longtime Nationals fans, a huge hat tip must go Storen's way for handling this demotion in the most professional way, at least from what we see on television or read in print.

Take yourself into general manager Mike Rizzo's office and envision San Diego, already feeling burnt by their mistake of giving up pitcher Joe Ross and shortstop Trea Turner to the Nationals. Any discussion with the Nationals for closer Craig Kimbrel most likely included a discussion of a flip back of Turner, similar to what the Nationals did with the Athletics for A.J. Cole. The conversation most likely also included other top-flight prospects like Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Erick Fedde.

Then, a similar conversation most likely took place between the Reds and the Nationals regarding closer Aroldis Chapman. The asking price had to include the pot of gold that included Giolito, Turner, Lopez, Fedde and/or others. It was too much for Rizzo to part with in this instance. He certainly wanted to fix the eighth inning issue, but not at that asking price.

It also is interesting to note that once again Storen did nothing wrong, but has done his job at a career-high pace this season. The eighth-inning problem stemmed from a combination of not having an adequate fireballer replacement for Tyler Clippard, the bullpen's recent woes in the late innings that didn't include Storen and an offense that could not score recently against some of the best starters in the league.

But back to Rizzo and his discussions with the Phillies. He knew Papelbon wouldn't approve of the trade unless he was named the closer on his new team. Rizzo weighed the cost this would have to Storen and his mentality, and after the trade, he was careful to call Papelbon his "ninth-inning pitcher" instead of closer. He knew the overwhelming power that an 8-9 combination of Storen and Papelbon would bring to this team, coupled with its already strong starting rotation, would make it difficult for any team to score runs against the Nationals. Rizzo is hoping that a potential deep playoff run will heal some of the wounds created in Storen because of this move. But with Papelbon signed through 2016, in one scenario, it would appear that Storen would likely just finish out this season with the Nationals, World Series or not, and then look for a new team next season.

But Rizzo, faced with all three of these scenarios and how they all would affect the Nationals this season, in 2016 and beyond, chose Papelbon and his 1.00 ERA in 18 playoff games as the solution to help the Nationals finish off this run. Then in December, they will work on what the bullpen will look like in 2016. The move strengthens their 2015 version at just the right time.