The Phillies will travel south to Virginia today to meet with Billy Wagner and make what will likely be their best offer. GM Pat Gillick, assistant GM Ruben Amaro and manager Charlie Manuel will make up the away team, hoping to lure Wagner back to Philly. The Mets are rumored to be willing to go as high as four years at around $10 million or so per year, and Wagner even went so far as to say that four years would be tough to turn down.
"That would put a lot of pressure on the Phillies," he said last night from his Charlottesville, Va., home on the eve of his first face-to-face meeting with new general manager Pat Gillick.The Phillies have thus far offered two guaranteed years with an option for a third, with a total contract amount of $27 million over those three years. The Mets likely haven't made a formal offer yet and will probably wait until Monday when Wagner visits our fair city."Four years would be hard to turn down. The Mets are already ahead in some aspects because of the kind of team they can put on the field."