Summary: The New York Mets have traded Billy Wagner to the Boston Red Sox. Boston will pay the remainder of Wagner’s 2009 salary, a little over $2 million, as well as giving the Mets two AA-level players, neither of which are top prospects.
Timeline (updated as necessary):
4:39pm: The Boston Herald says that the Mets get AAA outfielder Chris Carter. Still no word on the 2nd player.
Added to by TRS86: Carter was a guy that I had brought up when the deal was first mentioned. He is very Nady like to me. He is 26 years old so there is a down side. Seems to be the type of guy that has never been given a chance in the majors even though he has put up gaudy numbers in AAA. For his career Carter sports a .304 BA and 124 HR.
1:52pm: Bart Hubbuch says the two prospects are AA-level.
1:50pm: Jon Heyman reports that along with the 2 PTBNL, the Red Sox are covering the rest of Wagner’s 2009 salary ($2+ mil)
1:45pm: According to everyone and their mother, the deal is done. The two players will be “named later.”
1:38pm: Via Jon Heyman, SNY is reporting that the Mets will receive two players for Wagner.
1:26pm: SI’s Jon Heyman says “wagner is on verge of accepting.”
According to a tweet by Newsday’s David Lennon, an announcement on the potential trade of Billy Wagner to the Red Sox is “coming shortly”, the trade is “likely.”
41 comments
mrose
8/25/2009-1:43pm at 1:43 pm (UTC -4)
PTBNL is so annoying… i wish we knew who
udontmesswthejohan
8/25/2009-1:45pm at 1:45 pm (UTC -4)
Masterson?
udontmesswthejohan
8/25/2009-1:43pm at 1:43 pm (UTC -4)
Oh baby Jesus in heaven let this be true and let us cast out that backwoods heathan from out collective warm and ample bosom.
CaseStreet
8/25/2009-1:48pm at 1:48 pm (UTC -4)
nice job prismo. I just hope we get more than throw aways. We could’ve received a first and a supplemental for him if we offered arbitration, and he declined, and the signing team isn’t protected, right?
prismo
8/25/2009-2:11pm at 2:11 pm (UTC -4)
I believe if the team is protected (top 15 in draft), the Mets get a supplemental pick and their 2nd round pick.
If the team isn’t protected, the Mets get their first round pick.
Not 100% on that, but I think that’s how it works.
charlie_s
8/25/2009-2:01pm at 2:01 pm (UTC -4)
So, the Red Sox essentially get our two draft picks. I hope we get someone decent here.
prismo
8/25/2009-2:04pm at 2:04 pm (UTC -4)
Or Wagner could’ve gotten injured again, and the Mets would’ve received absolutely nothing for him.
Instead they DEFINITELY get $2+ million and two AA players.
charlie_s
8/25/2009-2:06pm at 2:06 pm (UTC -4)
I guess.
charlie_s
8/25/2009-2:30pm at 2:30 pm (UTC -4)
I’m sorry, I can’t get over this. I hear what you are saying about injury risk, but jeez if that were the driving force in these matters we’d all be driven to dump any one at the peak of their career (i.e. David Wright).
What is the value of a 1st round pick and a sandwich pick? We know the answer to this: a Type A free agent. So, these two minor leaguers to be named later should be worth a Type A free agent. I stand by this because if the Mets hold on to Wagner, they get the compensatory picks.
Yes, he could be injured. But, come on, are we really going to go there? Every single person on the team can be injured at any point (and this season, they have).
I just have a feeling Omar is getting fleeced.
sabermetrician
8/25/2009-3:06pm at 3:06 pm (UTC -4)
I’m with you Charlie, for what we got why not just wait for the picks?
trs86
8/25/2009-3:44pm at 3:44 pm (UTC -4)
We don’t know what we got.
Mr. Mets Butler
8/25/2009-2:22pm at 2:22 pm (UTC -4)
One less person to worry about putting on the DL!
trs86
8/25/2009-2:37pm at 2:37 pm (UTC -4)
Pending on the AA players this is a good move for the Mets. Saves them 3+M counting the buyout. The delima we were facing is that Wagner did not want the Mets to offer arbitration because that would make him unattractive. For that same matter if we did then offer a Wagner arbitration then we would be a situation of probabables. Most likely Wagner would not have accepted it and had to sign for very little as the team would not want to pay a lot AND give up a pick. However, as much as I did not think so, there was still the chance he could have accepted it and forced the METS hand. Leaving them with either a trouble making unhappy setup man for 8M+ a 1M buyout or with picking up 4-5M of his salary and then trading him for most likely similar prospects to now. So in retrospect this is the SAFE move for the Mets.
JoeR
8/25/2009-2:45pm at 2:45 pm (UTC -4)
good news on johan…thank god!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
stickguy
8/25/2009-2:47pm at 2:47 pm (UTC -4)
all depends on the prospects. If it is the Sox equivilant of Dylan Gee and Anderson Hernandez, then it was purely a move to save the Wilpons a few million $$, and you might as well start writing the “how can they cut payroll after XYZ” editorials now!
trs86
8/25/2009-3:23pm at 3:23 pm (UTC -4)
Nothing wrong with Gee. He was just injured this year. The Mets liked his stuff as a potential #4-5 guy. I would be fine with that type.
JoeR
8/25/2009-2:49pm at 2:49 pm (UTC -4)
francesa killing mets. how they shut down santana and no one from organization to comment
JoeR
8/25/2009-2:51pm at 2:51 pm (UTC -4)
he said ojeda is going to comment our star pitcher is out and getting surgery…lol
stickguy
8/25/2009-2:50pm at 2:50 pm (UTC -4)
Anyone know if Putz is getting close? WIll he be back? I heard he was throwing well with life on his pitches, but I don’t recall if he is close to live pitching.
If he comes back strong, I can see picking up his option and trying the 2 head closer again, or trading him (like they could have with Wags).
JoeR
8/25/2009-2:52pm at 2:52 pm (UTC -4)
he was suppose to pitch today…now hes not and no one knows why yet
sabermetrician
8/25/2009-2:54pm at 2:54 pm (UTC -4)
Santana gone for the season with elbow surgery.
Why didn’t we shut him down when he first complained?
JoeR
8/25/2009-2:56pm at 2:56 pm (UTC -4)
does it really matter at this point…he will be ready for spring training…good news i am happy…see u in 2010…whew
sabermetrician
8/25/2009-3:01pm at 3:01 pm (UTC -4)
Elbow surgery is never good news for any pitcher, especially a pitcher. This is horrible news. If they had said they were going to shut him down because the season is shot and he DIDN’T need surgery, I would think good news, but that is NOT good news.
trs86
8/25/2009-3:24pm at 3:24 pm (UTC -4)
Well it is only minor surgery to clean up. Could be that he comes back actually not feeling pain after pitching with pain for a while.
sabermetrician
8/25/2009-3:01pm at 3:01 pm (UTC -4)
Elbow surgery is never good news for any player, especially a pitcher. This is horrible news. If they had said they were going to shut him down because the season is shot and he DIDN’T need surgery, I would think good news, but that is NOT good news.
CaseStreet
8/25/2009-3:34pm at 3:34 pm (UTC -4)
BTW, whatever happened to fielding the best team possible? So it’s not ok to trade Shef, but it is okay to trade Wags? I guess, you can justify it by saying the bullpen isn’t bad and Wags wouldn’t play every day while Shef is needed in the lineup.
trs86
8/25/2009-3:37pm at 3:37 pm (UTC -4)
We were never told that any players were offered for Sheff. It could have been just a team claimed him to block or offered nothing in return.
CaseStreet
8/25/2009-3:42pm at 3:42 pm (UTC -4)
I thought it was the Giants who claimed him. Who would they try to block, the Rocks?
trs86
8/25/2009-3:45pm at 3:45 pm (UTC -4)
Possible, anyone ahead of them in the standings I guess. But either way they may have wanted him for free.
trs86
8/25/2009-3:52pm at 3:52 pm (UTC -4)
One thing we have to keep in mind is that this is not the Mets AA players that we are getting two guys from, it’s Boston.
I spent some time looking at their roster today and there are about 10 players there that would be helpful to the Mets as early as next year. My hopes are we get at least 1 of those and I am happy.
GravediggerHebner
8/25/2009-6:25pm at 6:25 pm (UTC -4)
If the Mets have in fact acquired Chris Carter as 1 of the PTBNLs, I’m fine with that for 2 reasons: 1, he at worst is better than most if not all of the players the Mets have called up this year to replace injured players; and 2, he fits the category of player that savvy observers of the Mets who know the Mets will be frugal say they should go after, a guy who is talented but blocked by better players in his organization.
Make that 3 reasons: he drove in the 1st run in the history of Citi Field (follow the link and press the “play” button on the left)
http://www.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=452080
trs86
8/25/2009-6:55pm at 6:55 pm (UTC -4)
Agreed, just updated the post.
gategem
8/25/2009-7:10pm at 7:10 pm (UTC -4)
Just four points for whatever they are worth(less):
1. I read where Carter is defensively challenged (PC to the sports blog)
2. Read this
http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/ken-davidoff-s-baseball-insider-1.1278117/the-terrible-message-the-mets-sent-to-their-fans-1.1394160
3. I read Metsblog to try and get the latest info (mistake?????) and now I know what it takes to pass the filters and no longer be moderated. You must have your head and other body parts firmly and securely placed up the Wilpon’s collective arses.
4. The Mets received payroll relief which is what I expected.
trs86
8/25/2009-7:13pm at 7:13 pm (UTC -4)
Well that he may be, but he does play 1B and OF and hits LH?
trs86
8/25/2009-7:16pm at 7:16 pm (UTC -4)
I disagree with the article. There was no guarantee that Wagner would have declined. I think he would have but he COULD have forced the Mets hand. If he accepted it then we would have been stuck. I also disagree that the Red Sox cared at all about the money. To me the Mets got a very useful player for next year.
gategem
8/26/2009-1:48am at 1:48 am (UTC -4)
Theo:
“Ownership deserves an awful lot of credit here. We added a couple of starting pitchers who were due to make a lot of money. There have been some developments in recent days where there’ll be some savings. There’ll be bonuses that won’t get paid out, so instead of pocketing that money, they allowed us to pursue ways to improve the club and helping us get into the postseason and World Series. So we were able to redirect those saving toward someone like Billy Wagner.”
GravediggerHebner
8/25/2009-8:12pm at 8:12 pm (UTC -4)
Gategem those are fair and relevant points.
My retort would be, while I respect Davidoff and enjoy his work, he’s a “major league guy.” When I want to know something about the minor leagues, I go to my man Mack of Mack’s Mets. I read his entry and I find I agree with his take. Here is his take:
http://macksmets.blogspot.com/2009/08/excellent-trade-with-boston.html
gategem
8/25/2009-10:27pm at 10:27 pm (UTC -4)
You make an excellent point about Davidoff being a “major league guy†and I like the blog that you directed me to. I guess the only question I ask is why did the RedSox trade for a first baseman (two trades, well actually three if you count the Martinez trade)rather than bring Carter up.
Again I don’t know what the Mets would have received if the Mets assumed the costs involved but if nothing else it does give one pause. The RedSox, after all, still live within a budget. And even if the RedSox could easily assume the costs within their budget it’s possible that speculating (or possessing information that I’m not privy too) on the Mets financial condition they may have used it as a bargaining tool to lessen the quality of players they would send the Mets. Again I don’t know the answer and perhaps the Mets made the best trade they could and received two players that will help the team next year. At this point I no longer have blind faith (well actually I do, on a pre-recorded open reel tape).
trs86
8/25/2009-10:38pm at 10:38 pm (UTC -4)
Because Carter is not a proven hitter to be counted on down the stretch.
wannybackstra
8/25/2009-8:45pm at 8:45 pm (UTC -4)
I like Carter for the exact reasons Heb points out. I’ve been advocating all along that the Mets get creative and target players like this (Kyle Blanks has been the real apple of my eye!).
The guy has talent and simply hasn’t had a chance. It’s a good gamble.
And let’s face it, the Mets did not have a heck of a lot of leverage. To get someone that could probably help immediately and hopefully in the long-term is a good score. Better than draft picks?? Maybe, maybe not. But this guy has at least demonstrated he can hit well at all levels in the minors.
Love his career BB:K rate, by the way (4:5). Not bad for a power hitter.
trs86
8/25/2009-10:40pm at 10:40 pm (UTC -4)
To me this was the SAFE thing to do. It may not work out but it saves them money and gets them a guy that could factor in next year while limiting the offseason drama SOME. Could they have offered him arbitration, him walk and take the picks? Maybe but stranger things have happen and could the Mets afford with their budget to gamble? I don’t know.