In an interview with Steve Serby of the NY Post, Mets closer Billy Wagner reveals that he is likely to retire after next season, the last year on his current contract.

After putting the odds of him retiring after the ‘09 season at “somewhere around 99%,” Wagner says, “I’m ready to go see my kids play. It’s made me enjoy being that dad and feeling the pressure for them instead of going out there having that pressure on me the whole time saying, ‘Geez, I’ve got millions of people watching me’ . . . Now I can sit back and watch them and explain to them why they don’t have to worry about it.”

Wagner currently has 364 career saves and a 2.37 era through 14 seasons.  It will be interesting to see how Wagner’s impending retirement affects the Mets approach to the free agent market this winter.

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