Jon Heyman, via Twitter:
wagner doing great audition in boston. best possibilities for next year: #braves, #astros, #cubs, #tigers, #nats (maybe)
Holy crap. Everyone knows Valverde's out the door. The only question is whether the Astros offer him arbitration and take a risk that he really will leave (which he probably will) and get a couple of draft picks for him. The bad news is he could take it, and make $10-12 million next year. That's bad. So maybe they'll pull a Ty Wigginton and not offer him arbitration, and just let him walk, and thank him for his 66 saves (and counting).
But what if he leaves? LaHawk makes $3.5 million. As a setup man. One of the last contracts before everyone in baseball realized the economy was going to suck for a long time. So if he is promoted to closer, will he get a raise? Did the Astros sign Armando Benitez this season to give him Triple-A action in order to give him a shot in 2010? But a homecoming for Billy Wagner? What do you think?
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
