The Cincinnati Reds and former Phillies closer Ryan Madson have agreed to a one-year, $8.5 million deal, according to a source.

Madson, 31, was 47-30 with a 3.59 ERA in eight career seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies. He went 4-2 with a 2.37 ERA and 32 saves in 2011 after taking over for the injuredBrad Lidge as Philadelphia's closer.

Madson was reportedly on the verge of a multiyear deal with Philadelphia in November, but talks between Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. and agent Scott Boras mysteriously broke down late in the process and the Phillies signed Jonathan Papelbon to a four-year, $50 million deal.

Madson's efforts to land a long-term deal this winter were undercut by a surplus of other options on the market. Huston Street, Andrew Bailey and Sergio Santos are among the closers who have changed teams in trades, and Joe Nathan, Frank Francisco and Matt Capps all signed deals for one or two years in length.

Madson will slide into the Cincinnati closer's role previously held by Francisco Cordero, who saved 150 games for the Reds over the past four seasons. Cordero is still on the market as a free agent.

 

 

Cincinnati slipped to 79-83 last season, finishing third in the NL Central a year after winning the division. General manager Walt Jocketty has spent much of the offseason retooling his pitching staff, acquiring starter Mat Latos and left-handed reliever Sean Marshall in separate trades that cost the Reds pitchers Edinson Volquez, Travis Wood and several promising prospects.

 

Madson is coming off a three-year deal with the Phillies that guaranteed him $12 million. He earned $5.1 million last year, including $600,000 in bonuses for games finished.

 

Jerry Crasnick is a senior writer for ESPN.com. Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7449185/source-cincinnati-reds-sign-closer-ryan-madson-one-year-85m-deal

 

Pretty good deal for the Reds IMO

I guess. the NL Central is wide open now.

Someone on twitter was throwing our name as a possibility right before the Reds were suddenly serious about signing him. Good for the Reds. I dont have any Malice towards them so it makes it a lot easier to handle.

Even though I think they gave up too much for Latos, I think the Reds have improved themselves the most for 2012.

Does this potentially mean teams are finally standing up to and flipping Boras' deals the bird? I remember he was supposed to get a much better contract extention like 4 years/ 40 something mill. Im just sick and tired of hearing about Prince not being signed yet, what team would be ludicrous enough to pay him Pujols money when he cant even shine close to what Pujols is.

What a steal for Madson. After Paplebon's deal I felt we did OK with Bell's deal, but this shows me we probably overpaid...

Madson has one year of closing experience. Bell has had many. We paid for the more proven closer.

No, we paid for the cheaper arm. Hindsight is 20/20. Madson's market wasn't always 1 yr/8.5 million. Madson was the unlucky guy of the offseason as Papelbon/Bell chose to sign early and other teams opted to trade for closers.

 

Had Madson asked for 3/27, I'm pretty sure the Marlins would've wanted him instead. However, the team felt they needed a closer and they weren't willing to wait it out. Agree with the strategy or not, that's what happened.

 

At the time we signed Bell, Madson was asking for more money. His price tag was closer to Papelbon territory (reportedly, the Phillies were close to signing him for 4/44).

 

He just took a one-year deal to enter the free agent market next offseason and try again.

I dunno, I still think I'd take Bell.

 

Something about Bell as a closer. I've always imagined him as the best of the best (even if that's true or not).

Bell's been one of the best relievers in baseball since 2007 for sure.

 

Problem is, his K rate declined last year and he's older. His K rate went down in '08 and he bounced back with strong rates in '09 and '10 so it's possible last year was just a fluke or something.

 

Madson's also been consistently good since around the same time and his stats are trending upward so there's no reason for him to get a lesser deal this offseason.

 

He ended up on a 1-year deal because the market for closers dried up.

Bell's other problem is that straight, flat-as-Florida fastball. Now, I'm not as nieve as those "But Petco made him better" people, considering I think his road ERA was still like 2.78... but still scares you a little bit...

Bell's other problem is that straight, flat-as-Florida fastball. Now, I'm not as nieve as those "But Petco made him better" people, considering I think his road ERA was still like 2.78... but still scares you a little bit...

 

As long as he can locate it, I'll be happy.