Mets closer Wagner out through 2009

NEW YORK -- New York Mets closer Billy Wagner needs elbow surgery that will sideline him through the 2009 Major League Baseball season.

The five-time All-Star has been sidelined since Aug. 3 and the Mets said on Monday that he has a torn medial collateral ligament in his left elbow and a torn flexor pronator, which is a muscle in the forearm.

Wagner, a 37-year-old left-hander, will have surgery this week.

He is owed $10.5 million next year, the final guaranteed season in a $43 million, four-year contract with the Mets. The team has an $8 million option for 2010 with a $1 million buyout.

New York began Monday with a two-game lead over Philadelphia in the National League East division. The Mets are 22-11 in Wagner's absence.

Wearing a protective sleeve on his left elbow, Wagner tested his arm on Sunday with disappointing results. He went to the mound in a virtually empty Shea Stadium and faced teammate Gustavo Molina.

A wild Wagner hit the reserve catcher on the left foot with his 13th pitch and walked off the field to consult with a trainer and the Mets' coaching staff.

"It's bittersweet," manager Jerry Manuel said on Sunday. "Bitter in the sense that we lost Billy Wagner probably for the remainder of the year."

Wagner was 0-1 with a 2.30 ERA and 27 saves in 34 chances, and he is sixth on the MLB career saves list with 385.