Mets sign Billy Wagner

by WholeCamels on Nov 28, 2005 4:19 PM EST in News

Ken Rosenthal reports that the Mets signed Billy Wagner to a 4 year/$43 million deal with a 5th option year.

Too much. Bring on the draft picks! The Phillies gain a first-round selection in the June amateur draft from the Mets (18th overall) as well as a compensatory pick after the first round (likely 31st overall), assuming the club offers Wagner arbitration. If the Phils sign a Type A free agent closer (Tom Gordon, for instance) they will forfeit their own first round selection (21st overall) but will retain the 18th overall selection from New York.

Tweet Comment 9 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Great news!

That's great news for the Phils. Wagner for a couple of years would be nice, but for four guaranteed years at almost $11M per year is absurd! He'll be hobbled and a big burden to the Mets in at least years 3 and 4. He'll be happy pitching in a pitchers' park, but we'll be happy with the salary flexibility and the young picks. Thanks Mets!

(Also, thanks for getting Tike Redman and his horrible talent today as well. We always like when a division opponent gets worse!)

by David S. Cohen on Nov 28, 2005 4:31 PM EST reply actions

dum da-da dum, da-da dum, da-da-dum...

...Bonanza!

Another nice thing about this is that, in conjunction with the Thome deal, Gillick now has about $17 million in discretionary 2006 payroll that he didn't have a week ago. Yes, he still has to get a replacement closer (and I think he'll sign someone from outside in doing that), but there's nobody left out there who could cost more than $5-6 million next year at most. That's $10-12 million he can spend for a starting pitcher or a big upgrade at third base, assuming he can find a trade partner looking to shed salary.

by dajafi on Nov 28, 2005 4:39 PM EST reply actions

Tees

In other news, I'm sure the Phillies souvenier shop managers are crapping their pants, due to all of the leftover inventory of Thome and Wagner shirts and jerseys... any question they were #1 and #2 in t-shirt sales in 2004? Top five in 2005? I wonder what they have left.

by WholeCamels on Nov 28, 2005 4:52 PM EST reply actions

Rosenthal says Phils want Gordon

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5116520

The Phillies have emerged as the most aggressive suitor for free-agent reliever Tom Gordon, viewing him as a potential replacement for Billy Wagner, who bolted for the Mets on Monday.

Gordon, 38, has spent the past two seasons as Mariano Rivera's setup man with the Yankees, and might prefer to sign with a team that would allow him to close. He continues to draw interest from the Yankees, Red Sox and Indians, and also could be a possibility for the Mets, Braves and Diamondbacks.

The Phillies were one of several teams interested in free-agent left-hander B.J. Ryan, who agreed to a five-year, $47 million contract with the Blue Jays.

Gordon also should cost less than Wagner, creating flexibility for the addition of a starting pitcher.

Story also has some nice words about Haigwood and Gonzalez, from a rival exec impressed with the haul in the Thome deal.

by dajafi on Nov 28, 2005 5:01 PM EST reply actions

you take the good, you take the bad

The contract is pretty much absurd and I'm glad the Phils didn't even attempt to top it, but the fact is that we're a worse team than we were a few hours ago. Should be interesting to see how we fill out the bullpen.

Before his arm was about to fall off during the stretch run, Ryan Madson seemed like he could be a decent, cheap closer. If he's not moved into the rotation, I'd still explore that option.

by brendan @ The Good Phight on Nov 28, 2005 6:56 PM EST reply actions

interesting

I agree with Brendan. A ridiculous offer by the Mets, but in the short term, it does hurt the Phillies. Gordon would be a nice one-year alternative, but I'd be wary of a two-year deal, based on his injury history and Torre's overuse of him the last couple years.

If Madson isn't going to be used in the rotation, then he'd be a great 1+ inning closer. Tejeda could probably take over Madson's role, and then fill in the other spots with guys like Brito and Liriano.

Then you'd have Lieber, Padilla, Myers, Lidle, and Floyd, with Wolf poised to return around the All-Star break.

I wonder what Wade would've done with Wagner. My money would have been on him going to the 4th year and resigning Wags. Which just makes you wonder how the last couple years might have unfolded differently had Wade been fired earlier.

by Alex Falzone on Nov 28, 2005 8:26 PM EST reply actions

yikes

And according to this article from Stark, Gordon is looking for a three-year deal. I'll be the first to go on record as hating this idea. I'd live with two years, even though I'd prefer a one-year deal with an option (based on some performance quota, just something to cover an injury). But three years? Ugh.

The Phillies have stepped up their efforts to sign Gordon in recent days, according to two sources who have spoken with them. What is still unclear is whether they are willing to give Gordon the three-year contract he is looking for at age 38.

It's believed the Phillies have an offer on the table for Gordon, but indications are that it's for less than three years. And GM Pat Gillick expressed reluctance Monday to give contracts that long to 38-year-old pitchers like Gordon and Trevor Hoffman, who have now moved to the top of the free-agent closer heap.

What's nice to read, though, is that Gillick seems not to be panicking, realizing the absurdity of the situation. Of course, then he goes oldschool and almost ruins it at the end with this statement:

But the top priority, Gillick said, is a proven closer -- especially now.

"You'd rather have ... someone who has done it," he said. "So certainly, you've got to have somebody who can handle that situation. If you're talking about a club that is out of contention, maybe they can take a chance on a young guy. But it's different for a team that's trying to contend."

by Alex Falzone on Nov 28, 2005 8:42 PM EST up reply actions

Spend $10 million on the pen

Sad to see Billy go, but I'll gladly take two first round picks and spend that $10 million on two quality relievers. Would $10MM get you Gordon and Hoffman? Wickman and Farnsworth? Whatever increment we lose in the closer position we can make up for with a dominant setup man.

by kmc1019 on Nov 29, 2005 10:04 AM EST reply actions

Gillick

I must say that I like what I see so far with Gillick. In these first weeks he's:

1) Made the decisive move with Thome, getting what he can in return -- which also turns out to fill two holes in the current organization -- major-league CFer and minor league depth. I'm not a huge Rowand fan, but he's still relatively young, has shown some pop and on-base ability in the past, and is good defensively. Definitely a full-time player you should be able to count on.

But what I like best about the Thome deal is Gillick actually did something -- avoiding what could have been an ugly situation in spring training situation. Dragging it out would have only driven down the Phils' trading leverage -- see Wade's handling of the Rolen fisasco for the most recent Phils example.

2) Not felt the need to keep up with the Joneses (Mets) on Wagner. As expressed above, giving out kind of money -- and moreso, guaranteeing that many years -- for someone to pitch 70-80 innings a year is absurd. I like it that Gillick did not get sucked into the bidding war -- chances are we'd only regret it part-way through the deal.

Now, if he panicks and throws a three-year deal at a 38(!!!) year old with an injury history like Gordon, I'll need to reconsider ....

by hawkeye on Nov 29, 2005 10:50 AM EST reply actions