Billy Wagner, the closer for the New York Mets, could miss the rest of the season due to his elbow inflammation, according to mlb.com.

Wagner was previously placed on the 15-day disabled list and was expected to return this week, but team doctors re-examined Wagner and the continued swelling and inflammation mean that Wagner will likely missing the remainder of the season.

Aaron Heilman has seemingly taken over the closer's role, but has been extremely ineffective there. Other candidates have also been less than stellar.

Duaner Sanchez and new addition Luis Ayala have had arm issues the past few seasons and their velocity is not what it once was. Pedro Feliciano and Scott Schoeneweis have been ineffective in the closer role since Wagner's injury.

Joe Smith has been hit very hard as of late, and does not seem to have the confidence to get the job done that a closer needs. Eddie Kunz was just sent down to make room for Ayala on the roster.

Brian Stokes is the long man, but he throws hard and has good stuff. However, his tendency to give up the long ball with the major league club could cause an Aaron Heilman-like worry in the ninth inning.

Could it be John Maine? Or Oliver Perez? Not likely. Perez is too valuable as a starter for the Mets and with Maine also recently having arm issues, he is not likely to be an option.

It appears as though Johan Santana's performance on Sunday will need to influence those of his teammates Mike Pelfrey and Perez, who hopefully will go long into games often.

Until Kunz is recalled and given a shot as the closer or Wagner returns, the Mets need to piece the bullpen together to win games, and not worry about the stats.