GaryMrMets
11-03-2003, 11:33 PM
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/mlb_news.jsp?ymd=20031103&content_id=598336&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
11/03/2003 4:45 PM ET
Wagner, Phils thrilled with trade
By Ken Mandel / MLB.com
PHILADELPHIA -- Taking quick steps to remedy a club weakness during the unsuccessful 2003 playoff push, the Phillies on Monday dealt for fireballing left-handed closer Billy Wagner from the Houston Astros.
Wagner, 32, was acquired for a trio of right-handed starting pitchers: Brandon Duckworth and minor leaguers Taylor Buchholz and Ezequiel Astacio.
"It improves the club greatly," said Phillies general manager Ed Wade. "Of the [closers] who are out there right now, you have [Mariano] Rivera and [Eric] Gagne. I think you have to slot Billy somewhere in there. His statistics bear it out."
"When he comes into a game, it's over," said manager Larry Bowa.
Coming off a career year in which he saved 44 Astros wins in 47 opportunities, Wagner solidifies a Philadelphia bullpen that last season ranked among the Majors' least reliable, with 18 blown saves. The team total of 33 saves was the lowest of any MLB team without 98 losses.
Wagner makes that bullpen secure -- and a fire hazard. The 5-foot-11, 195-pound southpaw often nudges the radar into triple digits. In 2003, his 105 strikeouts in 86 innings trailed only Gagne among Major League relievers.
The Phillies had no one anywhere near that reliable or intimidating, even during one of Jose Mesa's better stretches. The Phillies all-time saves leader allowed 102 base runners in 58 innings last season and had a 6.52 ERA. He twice lost his job, forcing Bowa to go with a bullpen by committee.
Now the ninth inning belongs to Wagner, who allowed 75 base runners in 86 innings in 2003.
"I'm very excited," said Bowa. "Having a closer like Billy Wagner is like having Jim Thome in your lineup every day. It makes you excited when the bullpen door opens. It's nice to know that when the eighth inning is over, there's no question about who's coming in."
"I think it's a big lift for the entire ball club. What you all like to see is consistency at the Major League level."
Wagner, the Astros' all-time saves leader, wasn't completely shocked by the trade. In fact, he said at the end of the season that he expected to be moved. Houston has Octavio Dotel as a replacement and can use the money saved from Wagner to acquire a starter.
"It's something that we all have to go through, and it's part of the game," said Wagner. "I'm excited about coming to Philadelphia because they've made the commitment to winning a championship, and that's what you want. I've heard rumblings that I might be traded, but I was still surprised when it happened. They're obviously going a different way."
Wagner has shown little lingering effects from the elbow tendon surgery that cost him most of the 2000 season. He will earn $8 million in 2004, the last year of a three-year contract. The Phillies inherit a $9 million option for 2005 -- or a $3 million buyout -- though Wade looks at the deal as a "$17-million commitment."
"We expect that he'll pitch the way we expect him to pitch and we'll pick the option up," Wade said.
That option made the Phillies more willing to part with three pitchers, including two of their brighter young pitching prospects.
Buchholz, 22, was the more advanced of the two, going 9-11 with a 3.55 ERA for Double-A Reading. An Eastern League All-Star, he was ranked the league's eighth-best prospect by Baseball America.
Astacio, 23, went 15-5 with a 3.29 ERA in 22 starts. Wade said Buchholz and Astacio were projected to make the Major Leagues by late 2004 and '05, respectively.
Duckworth, who will turn 28 in January, went 4-7 last season with a 4.94 ERA in 24 games, including 18 starts. His star had been fading since a splashy debut during the 2001 season. He suffered an injury in Spring Training and never really got on track after that. He gets a fresh start with Houston, which is looking at him as a member of its starting rotation.
"He has big-league stuff, though I'm not sure I'd want to pitch in that ballpark," said Bowa. "I think a change of scenery will be good for him. We still think he will be successful."
Wagner's success is well-documented. The southpaw has been Houston's full-time closer since 1997, having compiled 225 saves. His 1.70 ERA suggests that many of his saves are of the 1-2-3 variety, and that may be foreign to Philly fans.
"My head is swirling a little bit," Wagner said. "I don't think it's sunk in yet that I'm going to be playing for the Phillies. It's a emotional day. My wife was a little upset, but she was excited that we'd be a little closer to home."
Home for Wagner is Tannersville, Va., though he is looking to returning to Houston during the regular season. A potential return could be on July 13 for the 2004 All-Star Game at Minute Maid Park.
"I'm excited to get back at play in Houston. It will be strange coming back to Houston and having to face these guys, but they'll have the same feelings when facing me," he said. "It will be emotional, but I am looking forward to competing for the Phillies now."
Ken Mandel is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/2003/11/03/K9frZxZY.jpg
Billy Wagner had 105 strikeouts in 86 innings with the Astros in 2003. (Brett Coomer/AP)
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/2003/11/03/cJjyuc3H.jpg
Brandon Duckworth is 15-18 with a 4.87 ERA in three Major League seasons. (H Rumph Jr./AP)
11/03/2003 4:45 PM ET
Wagner, Phils thrilled with trade
By Ken Mandel / MLB.com
PHILADELPHIA -- Taking quick steps to remedy a club weakness during the unsuccessful 2003 playoff push, the Phillies on Monday dealt for fireballing left-handed closer Billy Wagner from the Houston Astros.
Wagner, 32, was acquired for a trio of right-handed starting pitchers: Brandon Duckworth and minor leaguers Taylor Buchholz and Ezequiel Astacio.
"It improves the club greatly," said Phillies general manager Ed Wade. "Of the [closers] who are out there right now, you have [Mariano] Rivera and [Eric] Gagne. I think you have to slot Billy somewhere in there. His statistics bear it out."
"When he comes into a game, it's over," said manager Larry Bowa.
Coming off a career year in which he saved 44 Astros wins in 47 opportunities, Wagner solidifies a Philadelphia bullpen that last season ranked among the Majors' least reliable, with 18 blown saves. The team total of 33 saves was the lowest of any MLB team without 98 losses.
Wagner makes that bullpen secure -- and a fire hazard. The 5-foot-11, 195-pound southpaw often nudges the radar into triple digits. In 2003, his 105 strikeouts in 86 innings trailed only Gagne among Major League relievers.
The Phillies had no one anywhere near that reliable or intimidating, even during one of Jose Mesa's better stretches. The Phillies all-time saves leader allowed 102 base runners in 58 innings last season and had a 6.52 ERA. He twice lost his job, forcing Bowa to go with a bullpen by committee.
Now the ninth inning belongs to Wagner, who allowed 75 base runners in 86 innings in 2003.
"I'm very excited," said Bowa. "Having a closer like Billy Wagner is like having Jim Thome in your lineup every day. It makes you excited when the bullpen door opens. It's nice to know that when the eighth inning is over, there's no question about who's coming in."
"I think it's a big lift for the entire ball club. What you all like to see is consistency at the Major League level."
Wagner, the Astros' all-time saves leader, wasn't completely shocked by the trade. In fact, he said at the end of the season that he expected to be moved. Houston has Octavio Dotel as a replacement and can use the money saved from Wagner to acquire a starter.
"It's something that we all have to go through, and it's part of the game," said Wagner. "I'm excited about coming to Philadelphia because they've made the commitment to winning a championship, and that's what you want. I've heard rumblings that I might be traded, but I was still surprised when it happened. They're obviously going a different way."
Wagner has shown little lingering effects from the elbow tendon surgery that cost him most of the 2000 season. He will earn $8 million in 2004, the last year of a three-year contract. The Phillies inherit a $9 million option for 2005 -- or a $3 million buyout -- though Wade looks at the deal as a "$17-million commitment."
"We expect that he'll pitch the way we expect him to pitch and we'll pick the option up," Wade said.
That option made the Phillies more willing to part with three pitchers, including two of their brighter young pitching prospects.
Buchholz, 22, was the more advanced of the two, going 9-11 with a 3.55 ERA for Double-A Reading. An Eastern League All-Star, he was ranked the league's eighth-best prospect by Baseball America.
Astacio, 23, went 15-5 with a 3.29 ERA in 22 starts. Wade said Buchholz and Astacio were projected to make the Major Leagues by late 2004 and '05, respectively.
Duckworth, who will turn 28 in January, went 4-7 last season with a 4.94 ERA in 24 games, including 18 starts. His star had been fading since a splashy debut during the 2001 season. He suffered an injury in Spring Training and never really got on track after that. He gets a fresh start with Houston, which is looking at him as a member of its starting rotation.
"He has big-league stuff, though I'm not sure I'd want to pitch in that ballpark," said Bowa. "I think a change of scenery will be good for him. We still think he will be successful."
Wagner's success is well-documented. The southpaw has been Houston's full-time closer since 1997, having compiled 225 saves. His 1.70 ERA suggests that many of his saves are of the 1-2-3 variety, and that may be foreign to Philly fans.
"My head is swirling a little bit," Wagner said. "I don't think it's sunk in yet that I'm going to be playing for the Phillies. It's a emotional day. My wife was a little upset, but she was excited that we'd be a little closer to home."
Home for Wagner is Tannersville, Va., though he is looking to returning to Houston during the regular season. A potential return could be on July 13 for the 2004 All-Star Game at Minute Maid Park.
"I'm excited to get back at play in Houston. It will be strange coming back to Houston and having to face these guys, but they'll have the same feelings when facing me," he said. "It will be emotional, but I am looking forward to competing for the Phillies now."
Ken Mandel is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/2003/11/03/K9frZxZY.jpg
Billy Wagner had 105 strikeouts in 86 innings with the Astros in 2003. (Brett Coomer/AP)
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/2003/11/03/cJjyuc3H.jpg
Brandon Duckworth is 15-18 with a 4.87 ERA in three Major League seasons. (H Rumph Jr./AP)