It's also no surprise that fans in Boston are a little weary. The 38-year-old Wagner has been on the DL all season — it's been over a year since the Mets shut him down and penciled him in for Tommy John surgery.
You know what else isn't surprising? That the Red Sox bullpen, as currently constructed, is in no mood for a shake-up.
Everyone likes job security. And no one likes being threatened by someone older and more experienced. So when Manny Delcarmen or Jonathan Papelbon speak a word of caution about acquiring the aging Wagner, it's to be expected.
Delcarmen said, "I think our bullpen is fine right now" and that "sometimes, shaking things up this late might work out different." Papelbon, the de facto king of the Red Sox' 'pen, declared, "I think our bullpen is good where we're at right now."
He added: "It's kind of like the [Eric] Gagne thing, I guess."
Papelbon both has a point and doesn't. In one respect, he's right — the Red Sox bullpen is fine right now as it's currently constructed. Papelbon himself has received a lot of scrutiny, but he's still managed a 2.08 ERA. Delcarmen, Ramon Ramirez, Hideki Okajima and Takashi Saito have all been solid in front of him. The Red Sox relief corps is already deep, and it's already good. Statistically, it's among the league's best.
But getting a little deeper and a little better never hurt anyone. And Wagner, with a sub-3 ERA in each of the last eight seasons, can certainly make a good staff even better. Whoever said no to a six-time All-Star?
This is like the Eric Gagne situation, but it isn't. The Red Sox dealt for Gagne at the trade deadline in 2007 because they were slightly more desperate than they are now — Ramirez and Saito hadn't yet arrived and Mike Timlin and Kyle Snyder were good, but not quite elite. The Sox needed one more star reliever.
This time, Wagner is a luxury. And rather than trading two good prospects for him — the Sox gave up the big-league-ready David Murphy and Kason Gabbard for Gagne — the Sox are merely placing a waiver claim on him. Low risk and perhaps a high reward. Why not?
In '07, the Red Sox immediately came to regret their move for Gagne. The veteran put up an ERA of 9 in his first month, walking four guys in 10 innings. He was out of baseball a year later. And not only that, but Murphy turned out to be the real deal. He became a regular starter in the major leagues right away, and he hit .340. He's still seeing plenty of playing time in Texas.
This time around, that won't happen. This kind of move is Theo Epstein's specialty — little can go wrong, and a lot can go right. Wagner's greatness may be obscured — he's been in the bullpen his entire career, and he's never won a ring — but he's one of the elite power pitchers in the history of the game. He'd be a superb fit in Boston if he stays healthy, making Papelbon and company even better. And if he's not healthy, who cares? The Sox drop the pittance of a waiver fee, $50,000, and move on. No harm, no foul.
The Sox' players shouldn't be so quick to dismiss the idea of Wagner in Boston. It would cost the Sox virtually nothing, and most likely, he'll do nothing to the team except add depth in the middle of a closely contested pennant race. Or better yet, he could be the Billy Wagner of old, dominating in a way few relievers have in the history of the game.
How could anyone say no to that?
