Comeback complete: Ryan Madson gets $22M in three-year deal with A's

There may be no better example of the paying power of MLB than Ryan Madson, who on Sunday reportedly agreed to join the Oakland Athletics on a three-year, $22 million contract. ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reported the two sides had a deal, after Madson's market was said to have been narrowed down to the A's and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Sure, other players have and will get more money this offseason, but in the context of his career, a team heaping millions of dollars for three years upon Madson is another signal of what we know: If you can perform on a baseball field, history be damned, someone is going to pay you a lot of money.

Madson, 35, missed all of the 2012, 2013 and 2014 seasons after Tommy John surgery and a horrific recovery. He hurt his elbow while with the Cincinnati Reds in 2012, then signed with the Los Angeles Angels the next season, but could never come back. In 2014, no one was even interested in signing him. Madson had pretty much given up on baseball after that, retiring and spending time with his family.

But after missing another year, the urge to pitch returned and Madson landed with the Kansas City Royals on a minor-league deal. Not only did Madson prove he could pitch again — his fastball was popping at 96 mph late in the season — he was a solid contributor to Kansas City's heralded bullpen. In 68 games, he had a 2.13 ERA and 58 strikeouts.

So he hit the free-agent market this winter with a World Series ring (he also won one with the Phillies in 2008) and a revived career. The comeback had been about as successful as possible, so next came the payday.

It's somewhat fitting he picked the A's, since they have a history with snatching up players who have revived their careers or giving guys opportunities for their comebacks. You need only to look back a few weeks, when the A's signed lefty pitcher Rich Hill to a $6 million contract after he looked impressive in four starts at the end of the year for the Boston Red Sox. He'd started the season in the Atlantic League. Madson will fit nicely in Oakland's bullpen, since they just shipped Drew Pomeranz to San Diego, and he'd been a key for them last season.

Sunday seemed to signal the start of a run of relief pitching, as baseball geared up for its winter meetings. A few minutes before the Madson news broke, the Baltimore Orioles reportedly signed Darren O'Day to a four-year, $31 million contract. Madson ranked No. 31 overall on Jeff Passan's free-agent tracker and No. 2 among relievers behind O'Day.