As first reoported on Twitter by Ken Rosenthal and later confirmed by others: Reds closer Ryan Madson will require Tommy John surgery, and will miss the entire 2012 season.
This is obviously a massive blow for the Reds. Madson was one of their prize acquisitions of the winter, and a bargain at just one year, $8.5 million. Apparently, the new Reds closer will be Sean Marshall, and Aroldis Chapman (who I just wrote about this morning) will spend the 2012 season in the bullpen for the Reds.
Thankfully for the Reds, they traded for Marshall and locked him up this offseason. If they hadn’t, Cincinnati would have been forced to throw an erratic Chapman into the closer role, or go with a more mediocre reliever at the position, like Nick Masset.
Madson’s injury illustrates two points. First, this is why you don’t give relief pitchers long-term deals and/or big money. They all usually throw harder, and have a higher risk of injury, such as in this situation. At least now for the Reds, they’re only out one year and $8.5 million as opposed to being out that much, and having a recovering reliever on the payroll for the next couple seasons. Secondly, this shows us why relievers should jump at long-term deals if offered instead of settling for a one-year deal and wait for the next free agency period. Something like this can happen, and next winter, Madson will be lucky to deal worth a quarter of what he’s making this year.
This is an awful situation for both parties, but the Reds at least have a contingency plan in place. As for Madson, he’s pretty much out of luck.
