Phillies lock up Ryan Madson for three years

Moving on to some better news from a team who got the job done, the Phillies continue to agree to contracts with key players from their World Championship team. Two days ago, it was Cole Hamels who agreed to a 3-year deal, today it was Ryan Madson who signed on for three more years.

Set-up man Madson and the Phillies agreed to a 3 year deal worth 12 million plus incentives. This was the same deal that Madson reportedly turned down last week, there is no word yet on why he agreed to it now. There was some speculation that Madson was going to try to get out of town and go to a team that would use him as a closer, but by signing this deal, he is locked in to setting up for Brad Lidge for the next few years.

While 4 million a year for a set-up guy may seem like a bit of a steep price, in my opinion the Phillies have made an excellent move. Good teams always have strong bullpens and now the Phils are set in the 8th and 9th innings for the next three years. Madson has been hot and cold throughout his career, but with the way he pitched down the stretch and in the postseason last year, locking him up to a deal was a must for the Phillies.

This leaves the Phillies with five arbitration-eligible players: Joe Blanton, Chad Durbin, Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth