Papelbon struck out two in a perfect ninth to pick up his 11th save of the season Wednesday against the Rockies. Papelbon is now 11-for-11 in save opportunities this season to go along with a pristine 1.50 ERA and 0.89 WHIP. He also has an impressive 23:4 K:BB ratio in 18 innings of work this season.

Papelbon worked a perfect ninth inning of Saturday, striking out two, to notch his ninth save of the season. He's now got a 1.13 ERA and 18:4 K:BB ratio in 16 innings on the season. The Phillies continue to hold out hope that another team will be willing to overpay for Papelbon in a deal, but at least he isn't doing anything to hurt his trade value in the meantime.

Papelbon pitched a scoreless ninth inning Wednesday to pick up his seventh save of the season. Papelbon, who is now the Phillies' all-time saves leader with 113, got some help from Jeff Francoeur who gunned down the potential tying run at home plate. He is a perfect 7-for-7 in save opportunities this season.

Papelbon (illness) allowed a solo home run, but retired the rest of the hitters he faced to pick up his fourth save of the season Sunday. Papelbon, who missed time recently due to an illness, has a 1.23 ERA and a 7:1 K:BB ratio in 7.1 innings this season.

Papelbon missed Friday's game due to an illness, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. It is unclear if Papelbon will be available Saturday. He has three saves and has not allowed a run in 6.1 innings this season.

Papelbon picked up his third save of the season Saturday, striking out one batter in a perfect ninth inning. He's doing nothing to hurt his trade value so far, as Papelbon has allowed just a single baserunner through his first 4.1 innings of the season.

Papelbon collected his second save of the season with a clean ninth inning to protect a 4-1 Phillies' lead in their win over Washington on Friday night. He would love to be traded, the Philadelphia fans would love to see him go, and the rebuilding team would love to accommodate both if they could find someone willing to take on some of his robust salary. Until that happens, he'll likely the remain the closer while set-up man Ken Giles waits patiently to step in.

Papelbon collected his first save of the year Wednesday by pitching 1.1 perfect innings with a strikeout against the Red Sox. Ken Giles made a mess of the eighth inning, but the veteran closer was there to pick him up. A sharp first outing of the year for Papelbon, who should again be one of the game's better closers, but is at risk of being traded away from a bad Phillies team whose fans he's alienated.

Papelbon was consistently hitting 93 mph with his fastball Saturday during his first out of the spring, CSN Philadelphia reports. Papelbon's fastball velocity has been declining the past few seasons. He averaged 91.2 mph on his fastball last year. Seeing higher velocity this early in camp is a good sign. Papelbon will open the season as the Phillies' closer, but the club hopes to move him at some point as part of their rebuilding efforts.

Manager Ryne Sandberg said Papelbon will be the Phillies' closer this season, the team's official site reports.It was pretty much a given, but the question was asked because Papelbon needs to finish 48 games this season to have his $13 million club option for 2016 vest. The option year has created some difficulties for the Phillies in their attempts to trade Papelbon this winter. He has finished no fewer than 52 games in each of the previous eight seasons, making the option a near lock to be executed provided Papelbon stays healthy. If the Phillies can trade Papelbon this spring, Ken Giles would be the favorite to close.