After shutting himelf down on Sunday, Billy Wagner received some grim news when he was examined by doctors on Monday: he has a torn flexor pronator and MCL in his left elbow, meaning he needs to undergo Tommy John surgery before he can throw another pitch. This is where things get murky. Wagner is already 37 years old and is only guaranteed money through 2009 (the Mets hold an $8 million team option for 2010, but at this point, it seems unlikely they'd want to exercise it). Considering pitchers generally require a solid 12-18 months to recover from Tommy John, is Wagner really up for a grueling year of rehab just to test the open market as a 39-year-old free agent?
Omar Minaya won't rule it out, especially if Wagner wants to chase history. From the New York Daily News:
"If he wants to pitch again, he'll pitch again," Minaya said. "I believe Billy is a good enough athlete. He's determined." [...] "He was really looking forward to getting to 400 saves (Wagner is sixth all-time with 385) and I thought he was one year away from that," Minaya said. "I still think when guys have those numbers out there, you don't know. It's a lot of work. This kind of surgery is one you have to really work hard."
