Billy Wagner Takes the Mound for the First Time Since Surgery

Billy Wagner took his first step towards returning to the Major Leagues today by completing a 23-pitch bullpen session today in Port St. Lucie under the watchful eye of Guy Conti.

Conti, formerly the Mets bullpen coach-turned rehab coordinator, said Wagner was in “tremendous shape."

It is unknown when Wagner’s next bullpen session will be. However, Conti suggested that it would be contingent on how Wagner’s arm feels after throwing from a mound today.

Up until this point, the Mets have been very cautious in rushing Wagner’s return. At one point they even halted him throwing for a number of weeks.

There is no timetable on if and when Wagner will return to the team. However, some within the baseball world have speculated he could be ready by either August or September, at the latest.

Wagner was pretty successful during his tenure with the Mets. He racked up 101 saves in three seasons in Queens and never posted an ERA higher than 2.63.

The question remains, are the Mets interested in bringing back the All-Star closer to finish out the final year of his contract? It seems too good to pass up the chance to have a combination of Billy Wagner, J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriguez to record the final nine outs of a ball game.