Papelbon now appears unlikely to sign with another team this season, WEEI's Rob Bradford reports.

EDGE Analysis

He will need to sign before midnight Wednesday in order to be eligible to to pitch in the postseason, and according to Bradford, that is unlikely to happen. Only contending teams would conceivably see value in bringing Papelbon aboard, so if he remains unsigned on Thursday, he likely won't pitch in the big leagues again until 2017.