Monday, November 28, 2005
Got our dämmerung
The Mets have agreed to a deal with former Phillie Billy Wagner to pitch the twilight of their games for at least the next four years. The various media outlets disagree about the exact details of the deal right now. But he'll get around ten million dollars for each of the next four seasons and either a three million dollar buyout or another ten million to pitch the fifth year. So the Mets will spend somewhere between 43 and 50 million dollars for the next four or five years of the career of Billy Wagner, who will turn thirty-four in July.
First things first, the money is absurd. Paying a guy more than forty thousand dollars per out is just silly. But that's just the nature of the closer position these days. If you can prove yourself capable of getting people out in the ninth consistently, you can get a contract wildly out of proportion to your real value. If the Mets hadn't given him this deal, someone else would have. And, of course, they are the New York Mets, so ten million dollars isn't going to break their backs. At least they have a great closer.
And that is certainly what they have. When Billy Wagner steps on to the mound, he will strike out more than a batter per inning. He will walk about a quarter of the number of batters he strikes out. And he won't give up too many home runs. The only question is how often he'll step on the mound. He missed almost sixty games due to injury two years ago and will be at least thirty-seven when he finishes this contract. As crazy as BJ Ryan's contract with Toronto may be, he might have been a safer bet for the Mets. But if Wagner stays healthy, the Mets will have as good a chance at preserving a ninth inning lead as any team in baseball.
The Mets have also purchased Tike Redman from the Pirates. Redman cannot hit. His career line is .277/.312/.378 and at twenty-eight, he's probably as good as he's going to get. But he is, by all accounts, a very good center fielder. I would think the Mets already have a guy to fill that role, but I suppose Redman could be a useful twenty-fifth man.
There are plenty of rumors swirling right now about the Mets' next move, most of them frightening. Right now it seems like giving a three-year contract to Bengie Molina might be one of the least stupid things they could do, which isn't a good sign. Alfonso Soriano's name keeps popping up and that idea hasn't gotten any less dumb in the past year. But of course Manny Ramirez is the name that is dominating the gossip right now.
Now, if Ramirez were a free agent and the Mets didn't already have a left fielder, I'd be all for signing him. But gutting the farm system (again) to acquire a player as expensive as he is flawed would be an awful move. Giving up any of Lastings Milledge, Aaron Heilman, Jae Seo and Cliff Floyd to get him would prove Omar Minaya about as honest about his commitment to "building from within" as Jim Duquette and Fred Wilpon were prior to the 2004 season. The Mets' offense doesn't need another star to be formidable. Adding solid role players like Ramon Hernandez and Mark Grudzielanek to the core they have already assembled would make for a very dangerous team. Minaya has proven himself a lot more adept at making the big, flashy moves than the small, creative ones so far. This would be a good time to show so ingenuity in the latter department. ¶ joe | 5:46 PM |
The Mets have agreed to a deal with former Phillie Billy Wagner to pitch the twilight of their games for at least the next four years. The various media outlets disagree about the exact details of the deal right now. But he'll get around ten million dollars for each of the next four seasons and either a three million dollar buyout or another ten million to pitch the fifth year. So the Mets will spend somewhere between 43 and 50 million dollars for the next four or five years of the career of Billy Wagner, who will turn thirty-four in July.
First things first, the money is absurd. Paying a guy more than forty thousand dollars per out is just silly. But that's just the nature of the closer position these days. If you can prove yourself capable of getting people out in the ninth consistently, you can get a contract wildly out of proportion to your real value. If the Mets hadn't given him this deal, someone else would have. And, of course, they are the New York Mets, so ten million dollars isn't going to break their backs. At least they have a great closer.
And that is certainly what they have. When Billy Wagner steps on to the mound, he will strike out more than a batter per inning. He will walk about a quarter of the number of batters he strikes out. And he won't give up too many home runs. The only question is how often he'll step on the mound. He missed almost sixty games due to injury two years ago and will be at least thirty-seven when he finishes this contract. As crazy as BJ Ryan's contract with Toronto may be, he might have been a safer bet for the Mets. But if Wagner stays healthy, the Mets will have as good a chance at preserving a ninth inning lead as any team in baseball.
The Mets have also purchased Tike Redman from the Pirates. Redman cannot hit. His career line is .277/.312/.378 and at twenty-eight, he's probably as good as he's going to get. But he is, by all accounts, a very good center fielder. I would think the Mets already have a guy to fill that role, but I suppose Redman could be a useful twenty-fifth man.
There are plenty of rumors swirling right now about the Mets' next move, most of them frightening. Right now it seems like giving a three-year contract to Bengie Molina might be one of the least stupid things they could do, which isn't a good sign. Alfonso Soriano's name keeps popping up and that idea hasn't gotten any less dumb in the past year. But of course Manny Ramirez is the name that is dominating the gossip right now.
Now, if Ramirez were a free agent and the Mets didn't already have a left fielder, I'd be all for signing him. But gutting the farm system (again) to acquire a player as expensive as he is flawed would be an awful move. Giving up any of Lastings Milledge, Aaron Heilman, Jae Seo and Cliff Floyd to get him would prove Omar Minaya about as honest about his commitment to "building from within" as Jim Duquette and Fred Wilpon were prior to the 2004 season. The Mets' offense doesn't need another star to be formidable. Adding solid role players like Ramon Hernandez and Mark Grudzielanek to the core they have already assembled would make for a very dangerous team. Minaya has proven himself a lot more adept at making the big, flashy moves than the small, creative ones so far. This would be a good time to show so ingenuity in the latter department. ¶ joe | 5:46 PM |
