Phillies acquire Astros' Wagner for Duckworth, prospects

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 minor league right-handers Taylor Buchholz and Ezequiel Astacio.

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.

"He's one of the most dominant closers in baseball," Phillies manager Larry Bowa said. "He's right up there with Eric Gagne and John Smoltz in that when he comes into the game, it's over."

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.

Billy Wagner is 'one of the most dominant closers in baseball,' Phils manager Larry Bowa says.(AP)

"When we met with our pro scouts and staff in Clearwater three weeks ago, we prioritized our needs and decided that the closer should be at the top of the list," Phillies general manager Ed Wade said. "We then went through the list of available closers and ranked them. Billy Wagner was at the top of our list. Billy represents a huge improvement for the 2004 Phillies."

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.

Dotel was 6-4 with a 2.48 ERA and four saves last season, and has 28 career saves.

"He's got the makeup to be the closer," Astros general manager Gerry Hunsicker said. "He's got the physical talent to be the closer and that's something we'll have to decide in spring training."

The Astros had a payroll of about $71 million last season and owner Drayton McLane doesn't intend to increase it next season.

"We're not there yet," Hunsicker said. "This is not the end result of a process. This is the beginning of a process. We've got to continue to look for opportunities, and where that takes us is difficult to say."

Wagner predicted his own departure on the final day of the regular season when he criticized the Astros for not making a move to bolster the roster for a playoff run.

"I'd heard rumbling that I might be traded and stuff," Wagner said. "I was surprised when it happened just because of how close the Astros were to getting to the playoffs and having the season I had. We might have made a step and got another starting pitcher. They obviously are going a different way."

Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.