There had been indications of late that veteran reliever Ryan Madson could be closing in on a deal. Now, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (in a notes post; subscription link), there’s reason to wonder whether he’ll sign at all.
Madson, 38, is said to be “thinking about not playing” in the 2019 campaign. Whether that is due to personal considerations or displeasure with the offers he has received is not clear, but it seems it’s not entirely certain that he’ll be back for a 14th MLB campaign.
If Madson does decide to throw, moreover, it’ll only be in the right circumstances. Rosenthal’s source says that Madson is expected to be “extremely picky” about where he signs. Again, it’s hard to know just what to make of that, since we don’t know what precise factors are driving the decisionmaking.
From the outside, it would be a surprise if multiple teams weren’t interested in giving the Southern California native a MLB roster spot and at least some guaranteed money. He still has a big fastball and compelling peripherals, even if he never was able to get the results to line up in 2018. And Madson put it all together in a compelling 2017 campaign in which he worked to a 1.83 ERA with 10.2 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 in 59 innings.
No matter where things go from here, it has been quite a momentous late-career push for Madson, who made himself into a star closer in his age-30 season before injuries intervened. He ultimately missed three full MLB campaigns (2012-14), but has been even better since returning. In 239 2/3 innings since his 2015 return, Madson owns a 3.19 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9.
Hope Madson has more in the tank and wants to pitch on an Angel. Help give us October Trout!
Yeh, that worked out real well when he was on the Angels a few years ago. No thanks.
Madson never pitched for the Angels …
The Angels signed him when he was injured with the hope he’d come back. He did come back, but it was with the Royals a year or two later.
Exactly…..
Right… But he was signed by the Angels for a year… And it worked out great for them… I think that was sarcasm…
LOL, a lot! Baseball player, like Madson, make me feel for an old man. See name, have fast memory of him being a great young promising bullpen man in Philly.
Thought, oh boy! Grab him up, fast, Angels! Too easy to overlook new age is 38 already! Even after reading it before post. LOL, a lot! Maybe like him for a retire instead.
Brought to you by Babblefish…
What…is your kelbasa bigger than everyone else’s? That hammer must be full of pierogis and sour cream. Or is that your brain!? Go hot some balls off a babblefish you potlock!
I love ANY Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy reference….Don’t Panic, brother
Eatadick and then taste that bbq nutty flavored sour cream…
@Polish Hammer
Ejemp is a non-native speaker, the poster wrote it on another post, this is the internet so believe it or not at your own will..
I believe it, thank you.
Calm down, internet tough guy
Sure thing, nothing says tough guy like riding in and telling somebody what to do and them following it up with “tough guy”…
Madson should sign with the Angels for league minimum. He owes it to us to at least give us a year of pitching after getting paid for doing nothing. I think he got $3.5 million for doing nothing.
Actually, I’d be surprised to see him get a guaranteed contract given all the quality players who are non-roster invitees this offseason.
My biggest fear is that he signs with the Red Sox. The dude always choked even when he was young and not bad.
Who cares
He was less than reliable as a Dodger; everyone is told to hang it up sooner or later and looks like his time is just around the corner…
Resign him Dodgers! Lol
Two of his former stops, (Phillies & A’s), would make sense.
The Phillies already have 9-10 guys that should get spots In the bullpen
He’s taking his ball and going home darn it!
He’s so much better than Liam Hendriks, hope Oakland hits him up.
The amount of playoff experience Madson has maked him worth signing.
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack
….. I don’t care if I never get back
Im sure he wants a ML contract. I would guess he is receiving offers in the 1-2 milion range, if any at all.
I predict, hes not going to budge on a guaranteed major league contract, so he’s going to retire.
Hard to believe this guy is still a free agent as stellar as he was in the playoffs. His world series performance in particular was akin to that of joe flacco in his super bowl winning run.
He’s still traumatized from the David Bote grand slam
He should of one the World Series MVP for the Red Sox.
Tigers should sign him. Then trade him before the trade deadline. Package him with someone else or on his own.
If he’s the only way to get Sam Freeman out of the Braves BP, then I think they should sign him.
Luke Jackson instead