The Mets have been successfully piecing together the ninth inning with Billy Wagner on the disabled list, but team officials always envisioned him returning at some point this season. Now he's lost for most -- if not all -- of 2009 as well.
Team doctor David Altchek determined Monday that Wagner has a torn medial collateral ligament in his left elbow in addition to a forearm tear. The 37-year-old Wagner will require Tommy John surgery. Short term, the Mets should continue to use former National Luis Ayala as the closer. But Wagner is in the third season of a four-year, $43 million deal that includes an $8 million team option for 2010. General manager Omar Minaya candidly said during a conference call Monday that he didn't expect the Mets having to allot money this winter to acquire a closer.
"It does change your thinking," Minaya said. "You have a certain allotment of dollars to put a team together. That was not an area I expected."
Minaya said he "would not be surprised" if Wagner returned in September 2009. And while fans undoubtedly will clamor for the Mets to pursue free-agent-to-be Francisco Rodriguez of the Angels, Minaya also mentioned internal options.
Those might include using John Maine as a closer, re-signing Ayala or trying former Rays reliever Brian Stokes in that role. Ambiorix Burgos, the former Royals closer obtained two winters ago for Brian Bannister, is 13 months removed from his own Tommy John surgery and had returned to minor league rehab games before those seasons ended last week.
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