Madson goes to Cincinnati to be examined

03/23/12 at 6:34pm
Written by jfay

Closer Ryan Madson flew to Cincinnati to be evaluated by medical director Dr. Tim Kremchek. The examination will take place tomorrow.

Madson, who’s been dealing with a sore elbow all spring, had a setback on Thursday. With Opening Day 12 days away, it’s unlikely that Madson will be ready by then — no matter how minor the setback.

He has not appeared in the game this spring. It usually takes relievers 10 days to a week to build up the innings necessary to begin the season.

Reds manager Dusty Baker would not speculate about what the Reds will do if Madson starts the year on the disabled list.

“I don’t know,” Baker said. “We’ve got to see with this first.”

The obvious choice to close would be left-hander Sean Marshall. When the Reds signed Marshall to a three-year extension earlier this spring, it was to give the club insurance at closer should Madson leave via free agency after this season.

Marshall is ready if needed.

“Of course,” he said. “I didn’t know (Madson) had a setback. Hopefully, it’s nothing serious. But I think we’ve got more than a couple of guys who could easily pitch in the ninth inning. (Nick) Masset has been throwing the ball good. Logan Ondrusek has been throwing the ball really well all spring.

“There’s a couple candidates to fill the void.”

The Reds also have a decision to make on left-hander Aroldis Chapman. He continues to prepare as a starter. But Madson’s status could effect what the Reds do with him.

Madson has never spent time on the disabled list with elbow problems in his nine years in the big leagues.

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/reds/2012/03...-examined/

just great...

Has Tommy John written all over it. Chapman off to waste another year in a LH setup role.

Madson heads to Cincinnati for elbow exam
By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com | 03/23/12 7:09 PM ET

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- While the Reds stayed mostly silent Friday about the nature of closer Ryan Madson's elbow injury, it was revealed that he is headed back to Cincinnati to be checked out.

Madson, 31, will be examined by team medical director Dr. Tim Kremchek.

"Nothing yet," Reds manager Dusty Baker said when asked if he knew anything about Madson's condition. "He won't be analyzed until [Saturday]. He went back to Cincinnati. We won't know anything until [Saturday]."

Madson, one of the Reds' prized winter acquisitions when he was signed to a one-year, $8.5 million free-agent deal in January, originally came down with what was termed as right elbow irritation in late February.

At the time, the injury was considered minor and something that Madson had experienced before while a member of the Phillies. But it was enough of an issue to keep him out of all of Cincinnati's Spring Training games.

The news on Madson has grown increasingly positive over the past week as he looked good during side bullpen sessions. He threw 20 pitches in a simulated game against three Reds hitters on Tuesday, and reported no issues.

Madson was scheduled to throw in a Minor League game on Friday, but that was scratched on Thursday. No one from the Reds will say what went wrong or what caused the outing to be called off.

Signed to replace Francisco Cordero as closer, Madson saved 32 of 34 games while posting a 2.37 ERA over 62 games last season with the Phillies.

Regardless of the outcome of Madson's exam with Kremchek, time is running out in Spring Training, and the regular season opens in less than two weeks on April 5 vs. the Marlins. It would seem unlikely at this point that the right-hander would be ready to begin on time even if he wasn't seriously injured.

Lefty setup man Sean Marshall, also acquired in the offseason in a trade with the Cubs, would seem to be the next logical choice to assume the closer's role without Madson. Baker was not ready to discuss a contingency plan.

"I don't know. We have to see about this first," Baker said.

Marshall, 29, had a 2.26 ERA in 78 games last season for Chicago, and also had five saves. He said no one has told him anything about his status yet, but he was ready to step up if needed.

"I think all of us would love the opportunity to pitch in the ninth inning and help the team win the game," Marshall said. "I've done it a couple of times the last couple of years filling in for a guy that was either tired or hurt. I enjoy closing the game out, especially in a win. I like contributing to a victory."

Marshall noted that his preparation for the regular season would not be different as closer or setting up. But he was hopeful that he wouldn't be needed to close.

"We'll see. [Madson] was on the right track," Marshall said. "Hopefully it's just a one-day setback. He's as good as closers get, so we need him bad."

Mark Sheldon is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Mark My Word, and follow him on Twitter @m_sheldon. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=...b&c_id=mlb

(03-24-2012 10:07 AM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  Has Tommy John written all over it. Chapman off to waste another year in a LH setup role.

I know. They should just trade Chapman. I have no faith that he'll ever amount to anything anyway.

Confirmed on the radio just now. Torn ulnar collateral ligament. Tommy John surgery here we come. The Reds are out 8.5 million. You can't take insurance out on a one year contract.

Reds closer Ryan Madson will miss season

(AP) – 10 minutes ago

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — Cincinnati Reds closer Ryan Madson has a torn ligament in his pitching elbow and will miss the season.

Madson returned to Cincinnati and was examined by team medical director Dr. Timothy Kremchek. The Reds said Saturday that Kremchek told general manager Walt Jocketty the ligament was torn from the bone of Madson's right elbow.

Madson agreed in January to a one-year contract guaranteeing $8.5 million, after a $44 million, four-year deal to stay with Philadelphia collapsed in November.

Jocketty says: "We talked to the team. We all have to stay positive. We have alternatives internally that we will sort through in the next few days."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/arti...6218e7e701

Ryan Madson broken; last call on Sean Marshall
By Scott Pianowski | Roto Arcade – 21 minutes ago


(US Presswire)
Mad Dogs and Englishmen

We're going to be short and sweet here; it's your basic closer fire drill.

Ryan Madson hasn't thrown a pitch all spring and it looks like his Cincinnati career is over before it starts. According to FOX baseball insider Ken Rosenthal, Madson is headed for Tommy John surgery and won't pitch in 2012.

This news likely sets up Sean Marshall to be the Reds closer, and it's also expected to keep Aroldis Chapman in the bullpen. Marshall is only owned in 24 percent of Yahoo! leagues, so go check and see if you can grab him. Maybe you can. Chapman and perhaps Nick Masset are names to know in deeper leagues.

Handshakes are handshakes. The closer carousel never stops.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/fantasy-ro...23718.html

Tommy John surgery for Madson

03/24/12 at 2:31pm
Written by jfay

The Reds got devastating news this morning: Closer Ryan Madson will need “Tommy John” surgery, ending his season before he ever threw a pitch for the Reds.

He was examined by Dr. Tim Kremchek in Cincinnati. Kremchek discovered that the ligament in Madson’s elbow was torn from the bone.

“We can sit here and try to rehab it,” Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said. “But that never works. He’ll have the surgery and move forward. It’s obviously not great news. We talked to the team and told them that we all have to stay positive. We have alternatives internally that we can turn.

“A lot of clubs have done that in the past. I did it in St. Louis when (Jason) Isringhausen went down. (Adam) Wainwright stepped up and we won a World Series. Arizona’s done it. A lot of clubs have done it.

“Dusty (Baker) brought up a good point. Madson got the job because (Brad) Lidge got hurt. Is it the ideal thing? No. But you’ve got to stay positive.”

Left-hander Sean Marshall is obvious candidate to take over as closer.

“I think we’ll determine that between Dusty, (pitching coach Bryan Price) and the rest of the staff over the next few weeks,” Jocketty said. “He’ll be a candidate.”

Left-hander Arolidis Chapman may return the bullpen.

“We’ll sort through that in the next week or so,” Jocketty said. “He will make his start today.”

The Reds do not have insurance on Madson’s $8.5 million contract. As a policy, the Reds do not take insurance on one-year contracts.

Madson was hit hard by the news.

“I talked to Ryan,” Jocketty said. “Obviously, he feels terrible about it. He felt fine all spring until just lately. After he sat out for a little bit and came back, he felt good. The other day, it got real tight. Even before he left yesterday, he said he felt fine.”

The tear probably happened recently.

“Dr. Kremchek said with the bleeding it looks like a recent tear,” Jocketty said.

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/reds/2012/03...or-madson/

Oh good God. This is why baseball contracts suck.

Ouch. Hey is Coco still available?

Well, time for someone to step up now...

The worse thing they could do now would be to use Marshall as the closer. He's one of the best, if not the best, high-leverage situation pitchers in the game. He's the guy you want on the mound with a runner on 3rd and less than 2-outs. There is no one else in the bullpen that could fill his shoes in that role. At the same time I don't think he'd be that much better as a full-time closer than some of the other guys that could possibly fill-in. I'd like to see a healthy Bill Bray get a shot. Arredondo would be ideal if his command comes back after another year removed from surgery. Masset would be a f'n disaster!

Who knows what Dusty will do without a designated "closer".

I hate it when my gut is correct.

Sure it looks like a recent tear. Wonder if the Phillies knew since they offered a big contract then suddenly went a different direction. Reds' medical staff's history is not exactly stellar.

Marshal is now pretty darned important.

Sweet. Ruined my evening.

(03-24-2012 08:31 PM)Coopdaddy67 Wrote:  Sweet. Ruined my evening.

Didn't do his a lot of good, either.....

this is stupid. so how does this affect his status with the team next year? will they pick up the option?

(03-25-2012 08:41 AM)Lush Wrote:  this is stupid. so how does this affect his status with the team next year? will they pick up the option?

If I were Madson, I'd feel ****** and give the Reds a good deal. Dude is getting $8.5 million to rehab.

(03-25-2012 08:43 AM)BeerCat Wrote:  

(03-25-2012 08:41 AM)Lush Wrote:  this is stupid. so how does this affect his status with the team next year? will they pick up the option?

If I were Madson, I'd feel ****** and give the Reds a good deal. Dude is getting $8.5 million to rehab.

Yeah, maybe he'll feel so bad about being injured and missing the season that he plays for free for the Reds next year!!!

Given how Chapman has pitched thus far, I'm not going to be happy if he gets sent to the bullpen. He's just getting himself stretched out and the starting rotation is where he belongs IMO.