From what I have read, it is a 3 year deal with a club option for the 4th. But you may be right. I don't know when Oswalt will be up for FA, or any of the other young guys for that matter, so maybe we will be okay.
raven - berkman is arbitration eligible at the end of next season...my guess is they'll have a deal worked out with him before arbitration. last year was oswalt's rookie year..we have a while before worrying about him.
Yes, it is a two year deal...but what is Wagner going to want after that is up? 10 million per year? He's surely not going to go down in price in two seasons, unless he endures a severe injury again. Sure Dotel has only had one good season, but one baseball season lasts a long time. Once Dotel was settled in the bullpen, he was as good as if not better than Wagner for the rest of the season.
raven - you're right...it's 3 years at $8 million/year and a club option for the 4th year...they can buy him out for $3 million
die hard -- let's not jump on the astros for deals with wagner they haven't signed yet some 3 years down the road! signing him to this deal doesn't mean they have to sign him again later on. a team does not need an all-star closer to win the world series...maybe not, but it certainly never hurts!! and don't tell that to the braves who probably would have a couple more rings if they could have ever found a true closer....and don't tell that to the yankees who nailed down world series titles with rivera...i would rather go into the playoffs with a great closer than without one my prediction is you'll all be very happy wags is back next season as he and dotel help to make up the best bullpen in the NL
<B>my prediction is you'll all be very happy wags is back next season as he and dotel help to make up the best bullpen in the NL</B> I have no doubt I'll be happy <I>next</I> season. My concern is in Years #2 and #3 when management says that we can't pursue any free agents because all our money is tied up in Reynolds ($8M?), Biggio ($8M?), Bagwell ($16M), Hidalgo ($8M), and Wagner ($8M). That quintet is $48MM of our targetted $60MM payroll.
Bottom line is this: Billy Wagner is a top 5 closer in the major leagues. We all know how important the bullpen is to a team. Just look at the Astros last year. He showed us that his injury was nothing but a distant memory. He didnt strike out as many batters as he used to, but he still knows how to get batters out and makes smart decisions on the mound. All championship teams have typically had a great closer, and Billy is no exception. In my opinion this was a great job by the Astros staff in retaining one of the best closers in the game period.
You said it. Dotel's fastball is just as lively and he has better offspeed stuff. We don't lose anything with Dotel as our closer instead of Wags. How long is Dotel signed for? He's gonna be unhappy with the set up role eventually. For that reason alone, I think maybe it would have been wise to let Billy go. But, it's not my money.
Hmm, I think it's questionable whether or not Bagwell is in the top 3/4 hitters in the game right at this moment but for the sake of argument I'll agree that he is. Having said that, if both Giambi and Bagwell entered free agency I don't think there's much doubt Giambi would get much more interest. Even if you think Bags is Giambi's equal which I also think is questionable, Giambi just turned 31 and while Bagwell will turn 34 this year. Nobody would have paid Bags $1mil/year less than Giambi. The 'Stros miscalculated the market badly IMHO. I know it's speculation but there are people paid to speculate that kinda stuff.
But who would have predicted that the market would have bottomed out the way it did this off season. Giambi was the <b>only</b> free agent this year to sign for truly big money. Bonds got zero offers from anyone besides the Giants. My 100th post! Woohoo!
I will go on record now saying that Wags will be washed up before this contract expires, bad move for the 'stros. Dotel should be our closer next year.
Eh. You're talking about guys who are within 2 1/2 years of each other. That may make a difference on length in the contract, but I don't think it should matter much in terms of yearly salary. Good hitters can stay at an elite level into their late 30s - look at McGwire and Bonds. Add to that the fact that Bagwell is a very good defensive first baseman, while Giambi is below-average. If the Stros are overpaying Bagwell (which I don't believe), it's not by much. To me, Biggio is the Astros' salary liability.
