Acquired in the offseason prior to the 1999 campaign in a trade for Mariano Rivera, who was expendable. The Zingrods had already acquired Bill Taylor and Kerry Lightenberg in a fairly successful attempt to reduce their closer budget, and Wohlers was seen as insurance for Lightenberg. The Zingrods have Hoffman, so they also have Miceli. They had Taylor, so they had TJ Mathews. See the pattern?

Little did anyone realize just how quickly the insurance would be needed or how poorly Wohlers would perform in Lightenberg's absence. The whole John Rocker fiasco aside, Wohlers' trade to a team with no real closer gave temporary hope to the Zingrods. However, with Graves and Williamson getting the job done in Cincy, the gamble has yet to pay off.