The A’s made yet another move as a prelude to Monday’s start of the annual Winter Meetings by getting hard-throwing right-handed reliever Ryan Madson to agree to terms on a three-year, $22 million contract.
Madson, the one-time Phillies closer who missed the 2012-14 seasons with injuries before coming back with a dominant season out of the Kansas City bullpen (2.13 ERA, 0.963 WHIP) mostly as a setup man, still needs to pass a physical exam before the deal is finalized, sources say. The deal was first reported by ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick.
After finishing 28th among the 30 Major League teams in ERA in 2015, Oakland has begun the rebuilding process with the addition of right-handed reliever Liam Hendriks, lefty Marc Rzepczynski and now Madson. At the same time, the A’s have cut ties with six of the men occasionally tasked with seventh- and eighth-inning setup work – Dan Otero, Edward Mujica, Eric O’Flaherty, Ryan Cook, Drew Pomeranz and Pat Venditte since the middle of last season.
General manager David Forst said this week that the bullpen continues to be a main focus of reconstruction as the A’s try to turn around after an American League-worst 68-94 record last season. Oakland had a composite ERA of 4.63 and a WHIP of 1.322, the team lost 35 one-run games and the relievers suffered 31 losses.
The A’s spent most of the 2015 season without closer Sean Doolittle, who pitched in just one game before Aug. 23. Oakland is looking for the left-handed Doolittle to close in 2016 with Madson as his primary setup man. However, the 6-foot-6 Madson, who got his velocity back into the mid-90s range with the Royals in 2015, has experience as a closer, saving 32 games in 2011 before injuries struck him down, posting a 2.37 ERA and a 1.157 WHIP.
“Arms are still a priority for us,’’ Forst told the Bay Area media this week in addressing the upcoming meetings. “There are some other conversations that have unfolded. There’s going to be plenty of conversation unfolding over the next 10 days.’’
Not only did Madson put up big numbers for the Royals in 2015, he threw in 68 games, his best total since 2009. That suggests his injury problems are behind him, although at age 35 pitchers historically tend of fall off some.
Because of that, there is a risk for the A’s in committing $22 million to an aging reliever who has been healthy for just one on the last four seasons. At the same time, the club couldn’t stand idly by with a bullpen that collapsed last year after three consecutive strong seasons. The A’s went into 2015 believe the bullpen would be its bedrock as a team, and it turned out to be quicksand instead.
