Inside the Phillies: Are Phillies walking the plank with the Papelbon deal?

MILWAUKEE - As Ruben Amaro Jr. unveiled his latest prize 900 miles to the east, baseball's general managers trickled into this city for their first face-to-face contact of the winter. Amaro soon joined them in this charming Midwest city, but only after awarding the largest-ever deal for a relief pitcher.

At its core, the Jonathan Papelbon deal epitomizes the debate of a closer's importance. The Phillies will be accused of overpaying, but that label is usually applied to most reliever contracts. Papelbon's performance will dictate the appropriate label. If Papelbon pitches 268 2/3 innings - his total from the previous four seasons in Boston - over the length of the contract, the Phillies will pay him $62,035 per out. (For a reference point, Roy Halladay earned $28,530 for each out he recorded in 2011.)

That is what will cause some to wonder if the money could be better spent on a position that will have a greater effect on the outcome of the next 648 or so Phillies games. Others will say those outs for which Papelbon is paid handsomely are the toughest of the game. Ultimately, the Phillies paid a price for acquiring the top relief talent on the market.

But money is hardly an object for this franchise, which previously was an inconceivable statement. Each time Amaro has maintained his budget is nearing its threshold, he's made a move that adds salary. The Phillies were tops in the majors in attendance in 2011 and are raising some ticket prices. By the end of the 2012 season, they will have reached 285 straight regular-season sellouts. Their local TV ratings were the best in all of baseball and a massive new rights contract - while still a few years away on the horizon - will eventually help defray personnel costs.

"We have some flexibility still," Amaro said when introducing Papelbon in Philadelphia.

That's an understatement. The Phillies will spend money as they deem necessary and it's hard to see finances standing in the way of any reasonable deal this winter. If they go over the luxury tax limit, so be it. That's the reality of a franchise that spends more than any other National League club. They can overwhelm the best closer on the market with an unprecedented contract. Is it prudent? Time will decide.