Wagner Out for Season and Beyond

The news isn’t good when it comes to Billy Wagner. An MRI done on Wagner today revealed the tear in Wagner’s MCL had increased and the Mets closer will require Tommy John Surgery.

Wagner who has been on the disabled list since early-August with a forearm strain was on the mend and due back with the Mets this week. That was until he threw off the mound after the first game of a doubleheader against the Phillies. After 13 pitches, Wagner walked off the mound with elbow pain.

The tear in Wagner’s MCL isn’t news to Wagner or the Mets. This was detected in late-July when he had is last MRI. Given his age, and the lack of severity, the plan was for Wagner to pitch through it (many pitchers at his age have done it). Unfortunately it’s at a point now where surgery is the only option.

Wagner will have surgery this week, and will be out of action for a year while his arm recovers. Wagner’s contract expires at the end of 2009, so his career with the Mets is effectively over. The only possibility of a return would be if the Mets pick up his option for the 2010 season, but the likelihood of them picking up an option on a then 39-year old closer coming off ligament replacement surgery is remote.

Luis Ayala will continue the closing duties for the Mets for the remainder of the season, with a rotating cast in front of him.

With Wagner now out for the next one-plus seasons, the Mets need to look toward the future.  The future needs to be Francisco Rodriguez.

Rodriguez, who is only two saves away from the single-season save record, is only twenty-six years old and a free agent at seasons end.  He’ll command a big contract, but with the Mets possibly shedding the contracts of Pedro Martinez, Moises Alou, Orlando Hernandez, Oliver Perez, and Carlos Delgado, they’ll have a lot of money to spend this off-season.  Should the Mets be able to shell enough money Rodriguez’s away, it’ll give the Mets a rock at the back off the bullpen for many years to come.