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Oakland Athletics Signing of Ryan Madson Is Just What They Needed

By Steven Luke |

It might not seem like a good idea, but the Oakland Athletics need Ryan Madson.

There are plenty of reasons to feel negatively about the Oakland Athletics signing of Ryan Madson (which is still pending his physical). The guy is 35 years old, and they’re giving him $22 million to pitch until he is 38. That age and that price is a difficult pill to swallow, but that alone isn’t the biggest negative. The biggest strike against Madson is that prior to last year, he didn’t pitch in three full seasons in the big leagues because of injury before last season.

That tough pill just turned into the size of an apple.

While it may be tough to believe a team who is always budget conscious gave an average of $7.33 million a year to an aging, injury-riddled relief pitcher, there are plenty of reasons why Madson might be just what the A’s need to fix a train wreck of a bullpen.

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Age and injury history are negatives when you look at how much money they paid him, but it is also what makes him perfect for this bullpen. At 35 years old, Madson has dealt with success, failure, and injury – and he has been used in multiple roles. That age and experience will help mold the young guys that the A’s are going to be counting on to fill out the high leverage positions in the bullpen.

Ryan Dull came up with the A’s as a September call-up, and the way he pitched down the stretch has made it clear that he’ll be called on in 2016 to pitch. It likely won’t be at the beginning of the season because of the addition of John Axford, barring an injury, but having a guy like Madson who has “been there and done that” will really help ease the transition for Dull and help him grow at the highest level.

The recently-acquired Liam Hendriks has spent parts of five seasons at the big league level, but until last season he had never pitched exclusively out of the bullpen. While he seemed to take to it effortlessly, one year of success is a small sample size, and if he struggles it will be huge to have a veteran to count on to step in and take the pressure off of him.

Most importantly, Madson’s age and experience will help Sean Doolittle. Yes, Doolittle needs help too. Doo is now an experienced closer, he has been to an All-Star game and he has dealt with plenty of injury issues over his career, but he is still a guy who wasn’t a pitcher four years ago and is coming off of his first injury riddled season at the big league level. Who better to help ease Doolittle into the 2016 season than a guy who just had quite possibly the best year of his career after coming off of three seasons out of the big leagues? There isn’t anyone, at least not on the roster, who is better suited for that role.

And that is just the impact that Madson’s experience could have on the high-leverage bullpen guys. He could serve as the same example for Jarrod Parker as he could with Doolittle. His veteran presence could also be huge for the young guys who are hoping to break into the rotation full-time, like Sean Nolin and Chris Bassitt.

If it’s hard to believe that any of this is true, just look back at Brian Fuentes. He was terrible at the end of his time with the A’s and was sent packing (and rightfully so). Even as terrible as he was on the mound, when he was sent away, Ryan Cook and other members of the bullpen at the time said what an impact he had as a mentor.

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The money, age and injury history might be scary for A’s fans, but if Madson can pitch anywhere near the way he did for the Kansas City Royals in 2015 and also impact the younger pitchers on the team, he will be worth it. He might be just what the team needs.

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