Should The Phillies Bring Back Ryan Madson?

With the recent trade of closer Andrew Bailey from the Athletics to the Red Sox, filling the hole vacated by current Phillies closer Johnathan Papelbon, it appears that the last of the teams whose offseason priorities resided in the back of the bullpen have found solutions. There does not seem to be a team remaining that is looking to spend big money on the market for a closer, and, for the most part, there really aren't any big name closers remaining on the market. An exception to this case though, is ex-Phillie Ryan Madson. Madson had been heavily rumored for the jobs in both Boston and Philadelphia at the beginning of the offseason, yet for reasons unknown, both teams rejected these whispers and went in other directions. It appeared as though he knew this was coming, however, as there was even rumored to be serious consideration within the Scott Boras-led Madson camp to accept the Phillies' offer of arbitration and come back for one year. After the deadline to accept came and went, the team could breathe easy, knowing that they would not be committed to another huge salary for the late innings.

"SCOTT! Get me a deal dammit!"

While the team was most certainly not looking to overpay Madson to return for one year as an 8th inning man, there is no reason to become deluded and believe that they would not love to have him back. Their approximate $9 million dollar arbitration offer is not an excessive salary for a closer, but was a bit much for an 8th inning man on a team who does not label payroll flexibility as a strength. But now that the market has thinned to its bare bones, there is a chance that the Phillies could bring back Madson at a reduced rate for one more season. Similar to what happened in the case of Jimmy Rollins, his bargaining power has steadily decreased, and the upper hand has folded to the organization that drafted him and allowed him to flourish into the late innings stud he has become.

The move would actually make a lot of sense for the team as well, as even though they possess a wealth of talented youthful arms including Antonio Bastardo and Michael Stutes, there is no guarantee that they will excel once again, and with Papelbon residing as the only capable veteran arm, it would be nice to have an insurance policy in case of injury or regression. And this would be one hell of an insurance policy. Madson has been nothing short of a beast since 2007, and has spent most of his time as a set-up man, posting ERA's of 3.05, 3.05, 3.26, 2.55, and 2.37 with a 21-13 record over that span in 310 games totaling 329.2 innings of work. Those numbers alone justify a spot closing games out, but when you have a weapon like this in front of perennial all-star John Papelbon, it makes for a tandem as tough to touch as any in the majors. 

While there are still a few teams with holes that Madson could fill, most notably the Reds and Cardinals, it does not appear that they are currently interested in pursuing a long-term solution, which makes the prospects of a homecoming for Madson that much more realistic. Hopefully we have some more answers sooner than later, but with some major names still out on the market (see Prince Fielder), it could be a bit of a wait before this all shakes out. Madson's return to the Phillies makes sense, but only time will tell how things play out.