Washington Nationals closer Jonathan Papelbon filed a grievance against the club for failing to pay him during a four-game suspension that he served during the 2015 season, per Rob Bradford of WEEI in Boston.
The issue at hand is whether the Nationals owe him the salary they did not pay during his suspension. According to Bradford, Papelbon claims "there is no precedent of a player having his salary withdrawn after such a team-issued suspension."
Here is video footage of the incident involving a skirmish with teammate Bryce Harper that resulted in Papelbon's suspension, per MLB.com:
Papelbon ended up serving a seven-game suspension after MLB added three games to the team-imposed ban, shutting him down for the rest of the season.
Whether Papelbon agreed with it at the time or not, the Nationals issued a statement shortly after the incident, noting the team would not pay him during the suspension:
This creates an awkward situation for both sides. But MLB is a business, and Papelbon is trying to recoup some, or all, of the money he missed out on.
MLB has a strong players' union, but this seems like a clear-cut case: Either the rule says a player is paid during a team-imposed suspension, or it doesn't.
According to Bradford, no hearing date has been set for the 35-year-old closer who has amassed 349 saves during his 11-year career.
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