Braves sign Billy Wagner

by Eli Greenspan on Dec 2, 2009 2:08 AM EST

FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Braves have signed Billy Wagner to a one year deal worth 7 million dollars. Wagner is the first big signing this offseason and this should star t to heat up the market in time for the Winter Meetings next week.

The Braves are in negotiations with Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez, but adding Wagner certainly gives them some leverage if negotiations head south.

Wagner, 38, posted an impressive 1.98 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 26/8 K/BB ratio this past season and limited opponents to a .174 batting average in 15 appearances.

He's a solid addition to the Braves bullpen and a nice steal for GM Frank Wren.

Tweet Comment 1 comment | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Honestly, I’m not so sure that this is a good signing for Atlanta.

Wagner is a very good reliever, and he showed that he still has it during his stint in Boston, but the Braves paid a very high price for a Closer. Research done by Victor Wang at the The Hardball Times showed that the approximate value of a #16-30 1st Round FA Compensation Pick is about $5.5M

Adding that to the $7M that the Braves already guaranteed, and the Braves just essentially paid, in a vacuum, a value of $12M for one year of a reliever. I like Wagner a lot and he definitely has the ability to be an impact reliever, but that’s a really high price to pay for a reliever, especially one that’s pitched so few innings in the past two seasons in a market that’s flush with solid relievers.

by Satchel Price on Dec 3, 2009 10:38 AM EST reply actions