New York spokesman Jay Horwitz declined comment. Gillick said Wagner's agent, Bean Stringfellow, called the Phillies yesterday afternoon to inform them of Wagner's decision.
''We were disappointed," Gillick said. ''At the same time, you can't say you're shocked or surprised that something like this would happen."
Wagner will receive $10.5 million in each of the next four seasons, a high-ranking baseball official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not yet been finalized.
The Mets have an $8 million club option for 2010 with a $1 million buyout. If exercised, the deal would be worth $50 million over five seasons. Wagner must pass a physical, which is likely to take place today, before the agreement can be completed.
New York reached the agreement on the same day it introduced slugger Carlos Delgado, acquired last week in a trade with the Florida Marlins, an NL East rival like the Phillies.
In the news conference, Delgado said that now that he's been traded to the Mets, he is willing to stand on the field during the playing of ''God Bless America" despite his anti-war stance.
While playing for the Toronto Blue Jays and then with the Marlins last year, Delgado avoided standing on the field when ''God Bless America" was played.
''The reason . . . was because I didn't like the way they tied 'God Bless America' and 9/11 to the war in Iraq, in baseball," he said when he joined the Marlins in January.
The busy Mets also purchased the contract of outfielder Tike Redman from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
