A’s add Ryan Madson to bullpen, talking to Scott Kazmir
NASHVILLE — The A’s turned to a member of the world champion Royals to bolster their bullpen, signing right-hander Ryan Madson to a three-year deal Sunday.
Numerous other clubs are pursuing the left-hander, including teams with bigger payrolls, but Kazmir enjoyed his time in Oakland and has many close friends there, including starter Sonny Gray and reliever Sean Doolittle.
When we played Houston in September, we were all giving him our best sales pitch, laying it on thick.
Whether the A’s can afford Kazmir, given the deals starters have received the past several days, remains to be seen.
General manager David Forst has said that arms are a priority and that payroll is not an issue, but Kazmir, 31, is likely to be in the same neighborhood as new Giants starter Jeff Samardzija, at $17 million to $18 million per season.
Doolittle, Oakland’s All-Star closer, missed most of 2015 with a shoulder injury.
If we’ve learned anything from watching the postseason the past couple of years, it’s that you can’t have too many assets in the bullpen, and if you have multiple guys who can close, that’s not a bad thing.
[...] that stuff he did with the Phillies carries a lot of weight, but the thing I have the most respect for is his comeback story.