BP: Madson Overpaid? Maybe, But Hard To Go Wrong With One-Year Deal.

Over at Baseball Prospectus, Ben Lindbergh weighs in on Ryan Madson’s new one-year, $8.5 million deal with the Cincinnati Reds. You should read the whole thing, but here’s Lindbergh’s big finish:

Regardless of Madson’s potentially less-than-perfect makeup, the signing seems like a success for the Reds and a rare black eye for Scott Boras, who sniped at Ruben Amaro like an agent spurned yesterday. Granted, $8.5 million is a substantial raise from the middle reliever money he was making before, but it’s a disappointing sum for someone who was reportedly on the verge of re-signing for four years and $44 million a few months ago. If Boras did play hardball with Amaro, it would seem that he misread a market that featured only a few late-inning openings with well-heeled teams. He called the deal he did get his client a “pillow contract,” suggesting that Madson could spend a comfortable season in Cincinnati before testing the waters again next winter. While Madson may sleep soundly with an $8.5 million pillow, he probably would’ve preferred the whole bed.

Heh. “Pillow contract”. I’m going to try to remember that one.