Reds Closer Madson Done for Year

Yes, the headline is unfortunately true. Reds closer Ryan Madson‘s 2012 season is done before it even got started as he will need Tommy John Surgery. According to Mark Sheldon, the ligament in his throwing elbow was completely torn away from the bone.

At this time, no replacement has been named although general consensus will hold that Sean Marshall will likely land the gig as closer.

Ouch…in more ways than one. And I have already seen one conspiracy theory on, you got it, Twitter.

One theory suggests/wonders if the Phillies (most prominently, GM Ruben Amaro Jr.), knew of the issue. Of course, that could be a reason why the Phils ended up signing Jonathan Papelbon instead of Madson, but I don’t believe that to be the case…at least at this point. Sheldon later informed all Reds fans that this injury is a new one.

Another reason I don’t buy into this is due to the whispers of how those negotiations transpired as to the reason for Madson exiting Philly and signing the former Red Sox closer to a four-year, $50 million deal.

This news will have an impact on the whole pitching staff, not just the ‘pen.

First, it is now highly likely Aroldis Chapman will be slated for the ‘pen. Having the potential of Marshall moving into the closer’s role, the Reds may, out of a general necessity, want another lefty arm for the bullpen. There has been no announcement on this. I hope they keep Chapman on the path to being a starter as that’s where he holds a greater value despite this news.

Second, you are losing a valuable asset by moving him from one role and placing him into another. Marshall has been one of baseball’s best relievers for the past couple of seasons. Now, if he does see the closer’s role this year, it could actually be somewhat of a bonus. That may have been the role given to him for next season had Madson elected to not return to Cincinnati.

What makes this harder to bear is that the Reds did not take out an insurance policy on Madson. That $8.5 million is gone…and will not be recouped. John Fay tweets that the Reds do not typically take out such policies on one-year deals. These events may have the brass thinking otherwise going forward.

But the biggest loser in this may not be the Reds themselves, although it’s hard to argue that this is a stunning blow to their chances of winning the NL Central. It might be Madson and his agent Scott Boras that emerge as suffering bigger losses. As Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports deduces (and tweets), Madson is unlikely to land that big, multi-year deal after this season.

Jocketty is far from throwing in the towel on 2012. He does have history on his side.

"“We have good alternatives we can turn to. Others clubs have done it in the past. I did it in St. Louis. When Izzy went down, Wainwright stepped in and we won the World Series.”"

Having made the Marshall deal places an even bigger feather in Walt’s hat.

And let the Twitter rumors begin. The one I don’t want to see happen: the Reds make another trade with the Cubs for Carlos Marmol. Yes, that already hit my Twitter timeline. Ugh…

Madson becomes the second big name reliever to have his 2012 season end due to an injury necessitating the TJ procedure. The Kansas City Royals closer Joakim Soria opted to have his second TJ, ending his season as well.

So, with this news…

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