Today marked the return of former Phillies closer Billy Wagner for the New York Mets following a year-long sting on the disabled list. Wagner threw a scoreless inning for the Mets in a 3-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves. However, before Wagner even threw a pitch, he was placed on waivers by the Mets. This has stirred up some speculation that the Phillies may be interested in re-acquiring their former All-Star.
However, it would be wise for the Phillies to take a pass on Wagner.
If the Phillies were to claim Wagner off of waivers, they would be responsible for paying the remaining $2.7 million on Wagner's contract which is more than Ryan Madson, Chan Ho Park, Chad Durbin, Scott Eyre and Clay Condrey are making for the entire season.
The Phillies also have an abudnance of left-handed relivers. Scott Eyre has done a very good job as the primary lefty out of the pen while J.C. Romero has been on the disabled list. Jamie Moyer was also excellent in his first relief appearance on Tuesday against the Diamondbacks. Minor leaguers Jack Taschner and Sergio Escalona have also proved themselves capable in short stints with the big league team this year.
One option for Wagner would be to use him in the closer's role where both Brad Lidge and Ryan Madson have struggled so far this year. Wagner does have 385 career saves but trusting the ninth inning to a 38-year-old coming off of major injury would be a major leap of faith for the Phillies. It would make more sense for the Phillies to continue to gut out the closer's role with Lidge or experiement with two-inning saves for Chan Ho Park.
Lastly, Billy Wagner has proven to be a bad teammate with both the Phillies and the Mets. His presence in the clubhouse could create an unnecessary distraction for a clubhouse that appears to be unified and is cruising towards their third straight division title.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
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Bad Call Blue,
ReplyDeleteWhy not take him? The guy will be in the Hall of Fame,the Phills have this year and next season untill MONEY comes to play. You need to WIN now or forever hold your piece b/c in 2011 Howard prob will not be a Phillie.
Also he is from Pulaski, VA, so I am a little biased when it comes to Wagner, and how do you know he is a bad teammate?
How many roster spots do you want to dedicate to guys who aren't use to pitching more than an inning? It might not be a problem once we get to the 40 man roster, but come playoff time, do we really want to have 13-14 pitchers on the roster?
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