Wagner out for Mets

[bulldog10jw]

As bad as Wagner has been , this hurts, mostly because there is no one else. Thanks, Omar.


http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AmC8pvbCtmwnBqSUcfKnW1g5nYcB?slug=ap-mets-wagner&prov=ap&type=lgns

NEW YORK (AP)—New York Mets closer Billy Wagner needs elbow surgery that likely will sideline him through the 2009 season.

The five-time All-Star has been out since Aug. 3 and the Mets said Monday that he has a torn medial collateral ligament in his left elbow and a torn flexor pronator, which is a muscle in the forearm. The 37-year-old left-hander will have surgery later this week.

[gokats85]

I hate to hear that. Although most of us Astros fans don't really care for the Mets, Billy Wagner is still revered around here.

[gmoney55]

As bad as Wagner has been , this hurts, mostly because there is no one else. Thanks, Omar.


http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AmC8pvbCtmwnBqSUcfKnW1g5nYcB?slug=ap-mets-wagner&prov=ap&type=lgns

NEW YORK (AP)—New York Mets closer Billy Wagner needs elbow surgery that likely will sideline him through the 2009 season.

The five-time All-Star has been out since Aug. 3 and the Mets said Monday that he has a torn medial collateral ligament in his left elbow and a torn flexor pronator, which is a muscle in the forearm. The 37-year-old left-hander will have surgery later this week.

This is going to hurt more next year than this one. I didn't really expect him to come back at anywhere near full strength this year, but now they either a) have no closer for next year or b) have to go sign a closer, taking money away from another spot they could have spent (maybe losing Ollie Perez?)

[whitey]

The Mets bullpen was already going to need to be rebuilt partially this offseason. Now we have another spot to fill :-(. The Mets are going to have to trade for someone or sign a FA. The Fuentes and K-Rod rumors are already out in full force. I don't think the Mets will worry about the financial aspect of this. It's possible they even have insurance on all or part of Wagner's $10.5m salary next year.

Not to mention the following players/salaries are coming off the books:
- Pedro ($11m)
- Alou ($7.5m)
- El Duque ($6.5m)
- Perez ($6.5m)
- Wise ($1.2m)
- Easley ($1m)

That's $34m right there. You have to assume the Mets exercise Delgado's $12m option next year (otherwise that's another $12m off the books). Wright and Reyes get a $4m raise combined. Maine & Church will likely see increases as well. So you figure the Mets bring Delgado back instead of going after Tex. That still leaves them with let's say $27m to play with for:

- Closer
- Ollie Perez (or a Sheets, etc.)
- Starter #5 (Niese?)
- A couple middle relief arms

I can see them going back to a Tatis/Evans/Murphy type platoon in LF next year. So yeah they can get what they need most likely without even increasing their payroll. Let's face it though. With the new stadium and increased revenue from luxury suites rolling in next year in all likelihood they might increase payroll next year.

[gmoney55]

The Mets bullpen was already going to need to be rebuilt partially this offseason. Now we have another spot to fill :-(. The Mets are going to have to trade for someone or sign a FA. The Fuentes and K-Rod rumors are already out in full force. I don't think the Mets will worry about the financial aspect of this. It's possible they even have insurance on all or part of Wagner's $10.5m salary next year.

Not to mention the following players/salaries are coming off the books:
- Pedro ($11m)
- Alou ($7.5m)
- El Duque ($6.5m)
- Perez ($6.5m)
- Wise ($1.2m)
- Easley ($1m)

That's $34m right there. You have to assume the Mets exercise Delgado's $12m option next year (otherwise that's another $12m off the books). Wright and Reyes get a $4m raise combined. Maine & Church will likely see increases as well. So you figure the Mets bring Delgado back instead of going after Tex. That still leaves them with let's say $27m to play with for:

- Closer
- Ollie Perez (or a Sheets, etc.)
- Starter #5 (Niese?)
- A couple middle relief arms

I can see them going back to a Tatis/Evans/Murphy type platoon in LF next year. So yeah they can get what they need most likely without even increasing their payroll. Let's face it though. With the new stadium and increased revenue from luxury suites rolling in next year in all likelihood they might increase payroll next year.


Good post. I think they have to go after Ollie or a No. 2 type of guy in the rotation. Niese may be as good as signing a No. 5 on the market. Middle relief of course they'll need, but definitely tough decisions there. See what you can get for Heilman, or finally make him a starter yourself. I'm hoping Burgos comes back with good stuff.

[whitey]

Thanks.

Re: Heilman

I think this was just a down year for Heilman. His k-rate is still up there, in fact it's better than it's ever been. He's just been walking more guys and giving up more homers. I fully expect him to recover to near dominance next season. Now that said, I also fully expect to hear a lot of Heilman for Street trade rumors all winter.

[Marcus Garvey]

Thus validating the Phillies belief that he wasn't worth the number of guarenteed years he wanted from them during contract negotiations.

Couldn't have happened to a nicer douche-bag.

[whitey]

I see what you did there.

[Go...gate]

Wagner was a good, not great closer. He could be Armando Benitez one day and Tug McGraw the next. Word also was he was a pain in the a$$ in the Mets clubhouse the likes of which had not been seen since Bobby Bonilla.

[gmoney55]

Wagner was a good, not great closer. He could be Armando Benitez one day and Tug McGraw the next. Word also was he was a pain in the a$$ in the Mets clubhouse the likes of which had not been seen since Bobby Bonilla.

True on that, playoffs or not this year this group is much more enjoyable to watch than last year, and has more fun on the field. Not sure if that's Jerry Manuel, having some younger call-up guys or a combination of things.

[whitey]

gmoney,

I think it's a combination of Manuel and seeing the likes of Murphy and Evans have a little bit of success at this level. It's also been fun to root for guys like Tatis who show up to play every day and resurrect their career in the process.

[Go...gate]

True on that, playoffs or not this year this group is much more enjoyable to watch than last year, and has more fun on the field. Not sure if that's Jerry Manuel, having some younger call-up guys or a combination of things.

Yes, agreed. Certainly, the Mets had some young fellows in the system who were better than expected. Tatis and Easley have been a pleasure, whatever happens. The losses of Castillo and El Duque were also addition by subtraction.

[whitey]

I don't know about El Duque. I would have loved to see him pitch 60 innings out of the pen this year. Castillo other than his OBP is just terrible. Hopefully the Mets can lose him and part of his contract in the offseason. Apparently they are sending Murphy to winterball after the season to get some work in at second base.