Who botched things for Ryan Madson?
Madson stuck with a 1-year deal
Who botched things for Ryan Madson?
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
Nobody will need to hold a benefit for Ryan Madson. If reports are accurate, he is in the process of doing a 1-year, $8.5 million deal with the Cincinnati Reds. He is safely in the 1 percent. Again, no tears.
But how did this happen?
How did he and agent Scott Boras miscalculate the market so badly?
I still would love to know how the whole Phillies thing went down. Reports stated that a 4-year, $44 million deal with Madson was imminent, and then it suddenly wasn’t. The Phillies went instead for Jonathan Papelbon and for $50 million, and Boras was left to talk about what a strong market still existed for Madson and et cetera.
But was there a real offer on the table to Madson from the Phillies, and if there was, why was it pulled back? If Madson and Boras had said yes at some point in the process, would Madson still have been here?
And who miscalculated the dynamics of the marketplace so badly? Was it Boras, squeezing so hard that the Phillies said ouch? Was it Madson, insisting that he was worth more? Or was there never a real offer on the table, and just discussions that ended when it became clear to the Phillies that they could get Papelbon instead?
If the Phillies thing was real, it was a lot of money, and it came from Madson’s current team. It also was from a team that has, in recent seasons, proven itself to be a market trendsetter. The Phillies -- with Raul Ibanez and Ryan Howard, to name just two -- arrived early and with the keys to an armored car full of cash. They guesstimated the market and they acted first and they were willing to deal with the second-guessers who said they overpaid. In both of those cases, Ibanez and Howard, they likely did overpay and still did not care and still will not care as long as you keep buying tickets at the going rate.
So if there was an offer, or something pretty close to an offer, you wonder what it was like when Madson and Boras discussed it, either face-to-face or on the phone.
Did Boras tell him to sign it? Did Madson want to sign it? Did Boras tell him he could get more from somebody else? Did Madson insist that Boras promised all along to get him more?
In other words, who drove this bus over the cliff?
The spin undoubtedly will be that they decided to take the 1-year deal because the market was lousy, and that if Madson pitches well this season, he will be able to cash in next year -- and it might just turn out that way. But when you do the risk-reward calculation, the risk being carried by Madson is enormous. Pitchers have health issues because that is what they do for a living. Closers have consistency issues because that is the nature of the position, it seems. You pitch in a bullpen, and you do that as your life’s work, and you never know.
Now Madson bears all of that risk and Boras goes about his lucrative business and the Phillies go on with Papelbon. And the rest of us wonder if it was the agent or the client who botched this thing so badly.
What's botched? Guy signs in the midwest baseball team as a #1 closer. He'll do well there and will sign a huge extension next year. Everybody wins except the Phillies.— Sam Crow
Even after the Phillies deal went south, there were still at least three other deep-pocketed clubs looking for relievers, including the Boston Red Sox. None of them want to deal with Boras. And with Madson having just one year under his belt as a closer, Boras came on too strong and asked for too much. So, Madson gets the chance to prove himself in Cincy this season and if he's successful, he'll get another shot at a long-term deal in 2013.— tomfox- I'd say Ruben Amaro botched it. He signed Pappelbon. How amny successful years did Madson have as a closer- one. How many bad years did he have-none. He should have been given the job again in 2012. Good luck Ryan Madson. Pappelbon better not mess up.— rolenfan
- Have you forgotten that every time prior to this past season Madson botched the closer role when it was handed to him? I believe, before last season, he blew 6 of his last 10 chances. I mean c'mon that was the reason they didn't even give Madson the role at the beginning of the last season. — SFPhillyphan
- Ryan will want to jump off a cliff after living in the Cincy area for 1/2 hour. The guy deserves a much better deal than what he is getting with the Reds, but it is nice to see Boras getting screwed.— kelprod2
- Time to stop calling Scott Boras a genius. I haven't done the research, but I'm guessing if you checked history, his tactics hurt his clients as often as help them.— nydb
- the reds are probably getting a steal here.— PYW
Comment removed.- I have to disagree with you both-- this is a blog post, not an article, written in the immediate aftermath of the Madson signing.
I agree it would be nice to know those negotiation details, but we rarely see even the most 'plugged-in' reporters get that info.— Shaggy - Who botched it for Ryan Madsen. Well, that's an easy one. His agent and himself.
On the other hand, it might lead to a better longer term deal.
For Ed Gein: Contracts are ALWAYS based on past performance--along with the suspicion it might continue. That's what is so horrid about the Laynce Nix contract--Little worthwhile past performance, no reasonable suspicion of anything worthwhile in the future!
For neocon--Another ex-Phillie with a loser organization for better money!— BEMiller - I hope Madson fires his agent. Boras is the one to blame here. Hope Ryan has the last laugh because he is a classy guy. I also hope he becomes a classy Richer Guy— cdm48
- Rich, this is indeed a head-scratcher. Madson established himself as one of the best closers in baseball last year. He should've commanded a multiyear-megamillion dollar deal.
Congrats to the Reds on getting a steal. In fact, if they were able to get away with only paying him $8.5 mill, I'm surprised they didn't make it a 3 year $25.5 mill deal.— nmlawyer - I don't think the Phils offered him 4 years for 44 mil. That was probably floated by Boras. Madson for 4 years at 8.5 per would have been fair.— mikemaddog
- Phillies management was probably mixed on 4yr/$44m and then when another GM called Amaro saying that Boras was still shopping Madson with $44m in hand, the Phillies simply felt used.— JoeC.
- From here it looks to me like both sides misjudged the market.
Boras thought Madson was worth the long term big dollar contract and was proven wrong.
Amaro thought Papelbon was a better option at that price and length and was also wrong. The moves and signings made by other teams/closers/agents have proven that both sides failed to understand the current market for a closer of Madson's standing.
As was pointed out, Madson now faces significant risk, but it is a risk he was obviously willing to take or he would have chosen a different agent.
Hopefully the consequences of the miscalculations will be minimal for both sides.— andyd
