Madson makes the cut: Royals righty beats Flynn for final bullpen spot
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- It was January and, at first, Ryan Madson was hesitant.
He had just talked to Jim Fregosi Jr., an assistant to the general manager for the Royals, about a possible return to the major leagues, nearly four years after his last MLB pitch. Fregosi had scouted Madson for the Phillies 17 years earlier as a fresh-faced high schooler, understanding his talent level and perhaps the potential many had given up on after Tommy John surgery sidelined the right-hander.
Fregosi had a simple question for the 34-year-old: Do you want to play again?
"And I said, 'I'll get back to you on that,'" Madson said.
Three months later, Madson has gotten back -- to the big leagues. On Sunday, he made the Royals' Opening Day roster as a reliever. His first appearance with Kansas City will be his first in the majors since Sept. 28, 2011.
Madson found out about the decision Saturday morning. He said the feeling was "genuine excitement that I haven't had in a long time."
The Royals are the third team that Madson will try to come back with. With Cincinnati in 2012, he was sidelined the entire season because of April surgery. With the Angels in 2013, he could never get healthy enough to get off the disabled list.
Now, he's back with the team he wanted to join after last year's postseason run.
"Just from spring training early on, I noticed it right away," Madson said. "It's fun. Guys get along really well, they have fun together, but they also want to work. That was a good feel right away. It was something I wanted to be a part of."
Madson barely made the cut for the team, sneaking past Brian Flynn for the bullpen's last spot. Royals manager Ned Yost called choosing Madson over Flynn "the hardest roster decision I think I've ever had to make."
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But if the Royals chose Flynn, they would have risked losing Madson to another team. The two sides had a "gentleman's agreement" that if other teams showed interest in Madson, he wouldn't be sent to the minors. According to Yost, teams did.
"Our gut just told us, 'We can't let this kid go, he's throwing too good, he's an experienced major league reliever with closer experience,'" Yost said. "He's a guy that we can envision, if he stays healthy, mixing in with (Kelvin) Herrera, Wade Davis and (Luke) Hochevar when he gets back. It was a tough decision, but we couldn't let him get away."
Yost said the team will be cautious with all its pitchers early on, but Madson said he feels ready to contribute full-time.
"That was a big question: Can I go back-to-back?" he said. "I told them I was ready. The last week of spring, I felt like I was ready. My arm is jumping back after games; I feel like I can pitch the next day. I let them know that that was OK."
Kansas City general manager Dayton Moore called Madson "a really pleasant surprise."
"Ryan was one of the very best relievers in the game for a period of time," Moore said. "Had some injury issues, but his velocity keeps creeping up, has a really good changeup. It was just a matter of stamina, which, hopefully, he'll be able to stay strong, so we'll see."
You can follow Matthew DeFranks on Twitter at @MDeFranks or email him at matthew.defranks@gmail.com.
