Former Phillie Ryan Madson saving games in Oakland

BALTIMORE - A year ago, former Phillies reliever Ryan Madson was one of the feel-good stories in baseball, returning after a three-year absence because of injuries to be a major contributor for a World Series champion in Kansas City.

Madson parlayed that performance into a three-year, $22 million contract with the Oakland A's, where he looks every bit as effective as when he was closing in his final season with the Phillies in 2011.

Entering Tuesday's action, the 35-year-old Madson was 1-0 with a 1.32 ERA in 14 appearances. He was 8 for 8 in save opportunities.

"What [Madson] has done over the last few years is remarkable," A's catcher Stephen Vogt said Friday before Oakland's game against the Orioles in Baltimore was postponed. "Basically he went from being out of the game to a World Series champion to getting a three-year deal. It's a great story."

It sure is, and Madson is soaking it all in. But he is also looking to prove his new team made a worthwhile investment.

"Oakland went out and got me, and for what they did for me I definitely wanted to come out and make it worth their while," Madson said.

Madson signed with the Royals after missing three seasons with injuries, beginning with Tommy John elbow surgery in the spring of 2012 while he with the Cincinnati Reds.

From 2012 to 2014, he pitched one inning in a minor-league rehab stint while with the Los Angeles Angels, but his arm wasn't ready.

Kansas City signed him to a minor-league contract in January 2015, and he made the team as a setup man, appearing in 68 games. He had a career low 2.13 ERA and three saves.

He ended the season by appearing in three World Series games, winning one, and not allowing an earned run in three innings.

Madson, the Phillies' setup man for Brad Lidge in 2008, said there were similarities and differences in the World Series he won with the Phillies and last year's title in Kansas City.

"The atmosphere was obviously the same, and both fan bases were great," said Madson, who went 1-0 with a 2.13 ERA in 11 playoff appearances with the Phillies in 2008.

He said the difference was what he felt internally. "I appreciated it way more [last year], the opportunity to be there," he said.

Madson, who also pitched in the 2009 World Series that the Phillies lost to the New York Yankees in six games, enjoyed his best season with the Phillies in his final year, in 2011. He saved 32 games in 34 opportunities and posted a 2.37 ERA.

He became a free agent afterward, and the following spring he began experiencing his elbow woes.

With Oakland, Madson was signed to be a setup man but has worked his way to the ninth inning.

"The way it started out, he was probably more of an eighth-inning guy for us. But now he is pitching the ninth inning quite a bit and has quite a few saves," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "He has been great for us."

When it was mentioned that Carlos Ruiz and Ryan Howard are the only players left on the Phillies from the 2008 team, Madson shook his head.

"It's hard to keep a team like that together, especially after you start winning and guys are getting paid a lot," said Madson, who has appeared in 12 World Series games. "It is nobody's fault. That is how it is and how the game is designed to keep the competition and keep the World Series trophy moving around."

And he hopes to move around with it.

"One of these years I would love to get one here," he said. "I would love to get a ring with some green in it."

mnarducci@phillynews.com

@sjnard