Ryan Madson is now a Cincinnati Red, and the only thing we knew for sure was that he was going to cost the Reds tens of millions of dollars less than Jonathan Papelbon will cost the Phillies. But whereas Madson's original contract was pegged as one year, $10 million, ESPN's Jerry Crasnick comes with an update:
Ryan Madson, Reds Deal Worth $8.5 Million
Ryan Madson deal is for $8.5M for one year, source saysOnce you get past the stigma that every post-arbitration closer is overpaid, this is a pretty low-risk, high-reward deal for the Reds, who are building a team with a Pujols- and Prince-free NL Central in mind.
The most surprising part isn’t the one-year deal if this nugget from John Fay is true:
Told there’s an optionA team option? That would be a huge coup for the Reds, as they wouldn’t have to deal with any of the risk that usually comes with a long-term closer contract. A player option would make more sense, as if Madson suffers a serious injury, he would at least get to salvage another year as a consolation prize.
From MLB Trade Rumors, here’s a list of the other closers on the free-agent market next year, in case you were wondering:
Matt Capps
Kyle Farnsworth
Brandon League
Juan Carlos Oviedo (née Leo Nunez)
J.J. Putz
Mariano Rivera
Joakim Soria
Huston Street
Jose Valverde
Stiff competition. Here’s a guess that he’s one of the first closers to sign next year.
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