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Billy Wagner

Wagner Out For A Year; Mets Now Need A Closer For ’09

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3:22pm: In a press conference clip aired on WFAN, Omar Minaya says it will indeed be Tommy John surgery.

3:05pm: The report originally said Wagner would have surgery on the tendon in his elbow. The report has now been changed to say the surgery will be on a ligament and will not require Tommy John surgery as originally reported.

Dan Graziano is reporting that Billy Wagner will need surgery on his elbow and will likely miss the entire ’09 season.

A Mets team official confirmed that Mets closer Billy Wagner will have elbow surgery this week and will miss the remainder of his season and possibly the entire 2009 season as well…Wagner is scheduled to make $10.5 million in 2009, the final year of his four-year, $43 million contract with the Mets.

The Mets do have an $8MM option on Wagner for ’10, with a $1M buyout. However, with the surgery, the Mets are unlikely to pick up the option.

Of a more immediate concern is the closer position for the Mets in ’09. It would seem likely that the Mets would now be one of the front-runners to land Francisco Rodriguez or Brian Fuentes, both of whom are eligible for free agency following the season. It was reported that the Mets were interested in Fuentes prior to the trade deadline.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Mets, Brewers, Astros

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Ken Rosenthal has a lot to offer in his latest Full Count video:

  • The Mets will prefer to pickup Carlos Delgado’s $12MM option rather than buy him out for $4MM. That’s a guarantee for a guy who should finish the year around 35-100 despite not contributing for the first two months.
  • According to sources, Manny Ramirez is unlikely to go the Mets. They will more likely focus their spending on pitching. John Maine has a bone spur in his right shoulder. Pedro Martinez and Oliver Perez are free agents. The Mets will need to go after starting pitching.
  • If the Mets go after Francisco Rodriguez, would they dangle Billy Wagner on the trade market in his contract year?
  • If the Astros sign Ben Sheets and Randy Wolf, they’d become immediate contenders, if not division favorites.
  • To recoup the loss of Ben Sheets and C.C. Sabathia, the Brewers might want to trade J.J. Hardy or even Prince Fielder for a pitcher to join Yovani Gallardo, Manny Parra, and Dave Bush. I can’t see them trading Fielder and a lot will be determined by how they fare in the playoffs.
  • Casey Blake will be in high demand this offseason. As a third baseman, his only real competition is the fragile Joe Crede. Blake can play 1B, 3B, RF and LF. He’s a good fit for the Dodgers to re-sign but, according to Rosenthal, he may want to go closer to his Iowa home.

Odds & Ends: Kennedy, Rays, Bonds, Wagner

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And now for something completely different, Odds and Ends:

  • ESPN reports that the Yankees optioned Ian Kennedy to Triple-A.  To take his place, they recalled Darrell Rasner who in 5 Triple-A games is 4-0 with 0.87 ERA and 27 K in 31 IP.  Kennedy relies on control and control he has had not.  He has the highest percentage of working into hitters counts of anyone in the bigs.
  • The Rays are the first team ever to hold the first pick in back-to-back years, and unlike last year when they selected David Price without thinking twice, they are presently undecided.  According to Marc Lancaster, "It’s a safe bet their choice will come from the following pool: Vanderbilt 3B Pedro Alvarez, Griffin (Ga.) High SS Tim Beckham, Florida State C Buster Posey, Missouri RHP Aaron Crow, University of San Diego LHP Brian Matusz and Riverside (Calif.) Patriot High C Kyle Skipworth."
  • Art Spander in the Oakland Tribune calls on Billy Beane to sign Barry Bonds.  Mike Sweeney and Frank Thomas aren’t enough.  Says Spander, "[Bonds] still can put balls in the seats and… butts in the seats. As opposed to you putting a tarp over them. The A’s have to stop being a secret and start becoming an attraction."
  • Brian Cashman: Phillies GM?  So speculates Jim Salisbury.  With no Johan but an injured Phil Hughes and ineffective Ian Kennedy, Cashman could find himself jettisoned by default from the organization should they miss the playoffs.  Pat Gillick’s contract is up after this year and Cashman once looked favorably on that gig.  But if you ask me, Mr. Salisbury is getting way ahead of himself.
  • Billy Wagner tells the New York Post’s Steve Serby that he expects to retire after 2009.  And he still hasn’t had a bagel.  That blows my mind.

By Nat Boyle

Wagner on Lidge

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Jon Heyman has been talking to Mets’ closer Billy Wagner, who is apparently close friends with the down-and-out former Astros’ closer Brad Lidge.  Who knew that Wagner was an expert insider in major league baseball– he refutes the Astros’ claim that they are not planning on moving the shell-shocked reliver.

According to Wagner, Philadelphia wouldn’t be a good fit, because, well, it wasn’t a good fit for him.  From Heyman’s article:  "He needs to be in a place where he can [exhale],” Wagner said. "Houston’s so laid back. Maybe I’m biased against [Philadelphia] … [But] all it takes is one bad game, and fans would kill him."  Obviously the Phillies are part of the discussion because they need to improve their bullpen in order to compete in the NL East, but Heyman also mentions the Mets and Devil Rays.  Of the Mets, Wagner says: "He’d be a good fit here. In this clubhouse, it isn’t ’Who hit the home run?’ or "Who had the hit?’ It’s "Did we win?”’  Yea, when I think of a place to exhale, I think Shea Stadium, with its kind, gentle, forgiving Mets fans. Right.

Lidge is on a one-year, $5.35M contract, so despite all the Astros "connections" to the D-Rays, I don’t see it happening.  Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times named some candidates yesterday nonetheless.  In my opinion, any of those guys are too much to give up, especially for a team with no prayer of making the playoffs.  Why are they in the market for a closer? 

With so many teams in need of relief pitching, it is likely that Houston will be able to dump all of Lidge’s salary and still get some good value in return.  But who, what, and when?  It’s only speculation for now.

John Peterson is a Mets fan and writes for the blog Blastings Thrilledge.

Mets Sign Billy Wagner

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Ken Rosenthal is single-handedly blowing ESPN out of the water today.  First he scooped the Esteban Loaiza signing, and now he’s broken the Billy Wagner deal with the Mets. 

While MLBTradeRumors.com’s source may have jumped the gun by a week, he was correct in asserting that the Mets would definitely guarantee a fourth year to Wagner and complete the deal sooner rather than later.  The Mets hold an option for a fifth year of Wagner for $10MM, a move necessitated by the market-setting B.J. Ryan signing. 

Wagner was the reliever closest to a sure thing this winter, as he boasts a 2.40 career ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and 11.99 K/9.  Should Aaron Heilman continue his relief dominance and remain with the club in 2006, each game will essentially become a 7-inning affair for the Mets.

Thanks to the many emailers who have passed along information about this signing.   

Billy Wagner To Accept Four Year Offer Tuesday

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A source in the Mets’ front office is telling MLBTradeRumors.com that the club will make a four year, $40MM offer to Billy Wagner immediately following his tour of the city.  The deal might be announced by Wednesday morning.  Omar Minaya is eager to get a deal done early this week so that he can focus on numerous other player acquisitions.

Minaya will be employing the same bait he used to reel in Pedro Martinez: the guaranteed fourth year.  The Phillies (smartly) refuse to pay Wagner $10MM for a season during which he’ll turn 38.

Other sources close to the proceedings indicate that Wagner already had made his decision to join the Mets prior to his New York tour.   

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