Ryan Madson is apparently changing shades of red after spending parts of nine seasons wearing Phillies pinstripes.
The reliever has reached an oral agreement on an $8.5 million, one-year contract with the Cincinnati Reds, according to the AP.
In Cincy, Madson will likely get his wish of saving games.
Per AP:
Madson saved 32 games in 34 chances last year for NL East champion Philadelphia. CBSSports.com was the first to report the right-hander's agreement with Cincinnati.
The contract is subject to a written agreement and a physical, according to the person who spoke Tuesday night to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been finalized.
Madson replaces Francisco Cordero as the closer in Cincinnati. Cordero remains a free agent after the Reds declined a $12 million option, choosing instead to pay him a $1 million buyout.
Madson became expendable for the Phillies after they inked former Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon to a four-year, $50 million contract.
The real question now is how Madson and the Phillies reached this point where Mad Dog would no longer be with the Phils.
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ESPN.com reports that there were conflicting stories about what really happened with the four-year, $44 million deal it seemed Madson was apparently poised to sign with the Phillies before the team signed Papelbon.
Although (Scott) Boras and Amaro refrained from inflammatory comments in separate interviews Wednesday, they remained at odds over the breakdown in talks that ultimately forced the end of Madson's tenure in Philadelphia.
"It's very simple," Boras said. "We never rejected any offer from Philadelphia at four years and $44 million. We advised Philadelphia that we would agree to such a proposal. And Philadelphia decided upon hearing that to go in a different direction."
When pressed for details on the discussions, Boras reiterated, "We agreed to a four-year, $44 million offer, and Philadelphia decided to sign someone else."
Amaro offered a starkly different version of events.
"There's no reason for me to get into a public debate with Scott on this," Amaro said. "I have no desire to do that. All I can tell you is, there was never an agreement, and we decided that we wanted to sign someone with the experience and the ability of Jonathan Papelbon. So we went that route.
"There's no question we had discussions with Ryan about bringing him back. We had several discussions about it. But no agreement was made. If we had come to an agreement, we would have signed him.''
No matter what got us to the point it looks like the Phillies are going to need to find an arm to take the place of one of the most-reliable relievers in recent team history. Madson posted a 39-25 record with 52 saves, a 3.04 ERA and 1.20 WHIP while averaging 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings in 473 relief appearances with the Phils.
