Cincinnati Reds are Bolstering their Pitching Staff

The Cincinnati Reds have spent this offseason upgrading their pitching staff. The first big move the Reds made was trading for Mat Latos. Everyone knew that the San Diego Padres were asking for a lot for their ace, but no one was sure who would be willing to pay the asking price. The Reds made it happen by trading pitcher Edinson Volquez and three prospects, first baseman Yonder Alonso, catcher Yasmani Grandal, and pitcher Brad Boxberger. I like the trade for the Padres. Volquez has shown flashes of greatness, but also has struggled. He has a chance to pan out thanks to a change of scenery. Alonso and Grandal are highly regarded prospects who have a chance to be studs for a Padres team in desperate need of some. I also like the trade for the Reds. They got the best player in a top-quality young pitcher, which was a need the team had. Latos is still young and did well in San Diego, but was always hurt by the Padres anemic offense. He won't have that problem in Cincinnati.

Then, Cincinnati acquired lefty reliever Sean Marshall from the Chicago Cubs. The Reds seemed to give up a lot (pitcher Travis Wood and two prospects), but this is an immediate upgrade for a bullpen that needed help. The Reds need to have a good season to convince Marshall to sign after the season. Marshall is a free agent after this season, and the Reds gave up too much for a one-year rental.

The Reds weren't done upgrading their bullpen. Today, they found their closer when they signed Ryan Madson to one year deal worth $8.5 million. Madson went 4-2 with a 2.37 ERA and 32 saves (in 34 chances) in 2011 after becoming the Philadelphia Phillies closer. This is a great sign for the Reds. Madson is a Scott Boras client and was looking for a bigger, long-term deal, but there wasn't any out there because of the deep closer free agent pool this offseason. This way the Reds can evaluate how he does and consider an extension during the season. Madson is known by his changeup, which he controls very well and freezes hitters with. ESPN's Mark Simon illustrated this well in the image below. It is obvious that Madson's change is one of the reasons he has had success as a closer.

Left: Where Ryan Madson threw his changeup (2011)
Right: Where average RHP throws his changeup (2011)