What the Philadelphia Phillies learned last year was that, even after signing free agent Jim Thome and acquiring Kevin Millwood, they were not a playoff team with Jose Mesa closing games.
What they hope to do this year is change that, and to that degree, the Phillies are quick out of the gate with the first significant move of the winter: They have acquired closer Billy Wagner from Houston for starting pitcher Brandon Duckworth and prospects, according to SportsLine.com's sources.
The trade is expected to be announced Monday afternoon.
The acquisition of Wagner is a significant upgrade for the Phillies in the NL East, which has gotten progressively better over the past few seasons. Wagner, a classic overpowering closer whose fastball touches 100 mph, converted 44 saves in 47 opportunities last season. He is a three-time All-Star.
As a team last season, the Phillies converted only 33 of 51 save opportunities. Mesa collected 24 of those in 28 opportunities, but ninth innings with the veteran right-hander on the mound were always an adventure. Manager Larry Bowa lost faith in him and finally took the job away from Mesa down the stretch.
Also, Duckworth was never as economical with his pitch counts as the Phillies would have preferred and, consequently, never got the results Bowa was looking for.
Wagner is due $8 million in 2004, and his contract calls for a club option of $9 million in 2005.
In Houston, depending on which moves the Astros make this winter, setup man Octavio Dotel is positioned to become the closer.