By Mark Sheldon

*The Reds got the worst news possible on closer Ryan Madson. The ligament in his elbow is torn off of the bone and he will need Tommy John surgery that will end his season before it begins. Madson was examined this morning in Cincinnati by team medical director Dr. Tim Kremcheck.

“We can sit here and try to rehab it but it never works,” Reds GM Walt Jocketty said. “The best thing is to shut it down, get the surgery and move forward. It’s obviously not great news. But we told the team and said to stay positive. We have good alternatives we can turn to. Others clubs have done it in the past. I did it in St. Louis. When Izzy went down, Wainwright stepped in and we won the World Series.”

“You feel terrible for him because he feels terrible,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said.

The Reds did not take an insurance policy on Madson’s one-year, $8.5 million contract because it was a one-year deal and the club policy is not to do insurance on one-year deals.

Jocketty and Baker did not name a closer to replace Madson but LHP Sean Marshall seems to be the primary candidate. When asked if this development could move Aroldis Chapman back to a bullpen role, Jocketty said “Maybe.”

More to come…

Here is the story I wrote for MLB.com