Orioles sign Ty Wigginton to a 2 year deal

[Rolotomassie]

AM doesn't just like the former Cubs, but a lot of the guys they played against frequently in the NL central....

Trachsel

Pie

Hill

Moore

Sarfate

Patton

Constanzo

Scott

Freel

Wigginton

Albers

Montanez

Jolbert Cabrera

Zaun

and possibly Looper

Just realized I forgot Juan Castro, Rocky Cherry, and Greg Aquino too. And I didn't count minor leaguers acquired from those organizations....

[Frobby]

Trembley comment from 3 weeks ago:

"We need some high-energy guys and we need some versatile guys," Trembley said. "Our record in day games after night games is dismal, and the September swoon is for a lot of reasons. I think the pitchers run out of gas, especially the bullpen, because it's been used so much. But I also think we need some real high-energy guys for late in the season. I've known Wigginton for a long time. He was in Triple-A when I was there, and he's got some pop and he's like Freel in that he's a blue-collar guy."

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090109&content_id=3738214&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp&partnerId=rss_mlb

[TGO]

Trembley comment from 3 weeks ago:

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090109&content_id=3738214&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp&partnerId=rss_mlb

Good catch. I think Wiggington, Gomez, and Zaun were all targeted for this particular reason. Freel is also a guy they like, though obviously part of the reason we got him was we had to take something from the Reds contract wise.

[mrbig1]

The O's are thinking that Mora is no spring chicken. Now they can have Ty or Huff playing 3rd base. I think it's a good move for the future.

[maudibjr]

For those of you concerned this will impact Pie's playing time, I wouldn't be terribly concerned. There was very little reason to trade for Pie if you weren't going to give him an every day job. It was clear from his time with the Cubs that he didn't do well being jerked around. They played Jones every day last year, they will play Pie every day this year. The Orioles know that his development is one of the keys to the future success of this franchise.

I agree.

However Wiggington does provide insurance (in the form of a DH, with Scott in LF) in case Pie is still totally failing going into the AS break.

[sdeclue]

Analysis on the Wigginton signing: http://www.examiner.com/x-1089-Baltimore-Sports-Examiner~y2009m2d3-Orioles-sign-Wigginton-to-2year-deal

[Dipper9]

This is what I get for actually "working" this morning! :laughlol:

Anyway, the way I see it, if no more moves are made, then Spring Training isn't going to be much of a tryout for anyone, and that's IF we go with a four man bench...

1b: Huff

2b: Roberts

ss: Izturis

3b: Mora

c: Zaun

outfield: Kakes, Jones, Pie

DH: Scott

bench: Wigginton, Freel, Gomez, Moeller

I suppose Moeller could get beat out, but otherwise, Gomez would have to play hmself out of a spot and all the others are guaranteed.

That leaves Montanez, Salazar, Reimold, and others without even a CHANCE of making this team. That seems a bit odd considering 11 straight losing seasons, but where is the competition? I see none anywhere????

[fearthenoodle]

Quotes from Ty:

"I'm definitely excited," Wiggington said. "When I was in Tampa, I enjoyed playing in the AL East. I believe it is the toughest division in baseball. You have to compete on a daily basis in that division and that's a lot of fun."

"Two years was definitely a major part in it," said Wigginton, who lives just outside of Charlotte, N.C. "But I've also always enjoyed playing in Baltimore when I have been there as a visitor. I just felt like it was going to be a good place for me and my family. It's one of the (major league) cities we are closest to."

"A player goes out there and does what they are capable of and everything works out for the best," he said. "I believe if I play the way I feel I should play, I'll be out there somewhere. I'll go out and play the game and let everything take care of itself."

[Hooded Viper]

This is what I get for actually "working" this morning! :laughlol:

Anyway, the way I see it, if no more moves are made, then Spring Training isn't going to be much of a tryout for anyone, and that's IF we go with a four man bench...

1b: Huff

2b: Roberts

ss: Izturis

3b: Mora

c: Zaun

outfield: Kakes, Jones, Pie

DH: Scott

bench: Wigginton, Freel, Gomez, Moeller

I suppose Moeller could get beat out, but otherwise, Gomez would have to play hmself out of a spot and all the others are guaranteed.

That leaves Montanez, Salazar, Reimold, and others without even a CHANCE of making this team. That seems a bit odd considering 11 straight losing seasons, but where is the competition? I see none anywhere????

The competition is where it needs to be...pitching!!

[RShack]

Quotes from Ty:

"A player goes out there and does what they are capable of and everything works out for the best," he said. "I believe if I play the way I feel I should play, I'll be out there somewhere. I'll go out and play the game and let everything take care of itself."

Evidently, he once sat next to Crash Davis on the bus...

[raypetty]

Quotes from Ty:

"I'm definitely excited," Wiggington said. "When I was in Tampa, I enjoyed playing in the AL East. I believe it is the toughest division in baseball. You have to compete on a daily basis in that division and that's a lot of fun."

"Two years was definitely a major part in it," said Wigginton, who lives just outside of Charlotte, N.C. "But I've also always enjoyed playing in Baltimore when I have been there as a visitor. I just felt like it was going to be a good place for me and my family. It's one of the (major league) cities we are closest to."

"A player goes out there and does what they are capable of and everything works out for the best," he said. "I believe if I play the way I feel I should play, I'll be out there somewhere. I'll go out and play the game and let everything take care of itself."

I don't think he will sit on the bench much. You got to think he will at least be a regular DH and be playing spot duty for Huff.

[maudibjr]

I trust Trembley to keep the egos in check. And I truly think a lot depends on how the team is doing. It is a lot easier to accept a role when the team is playing well.

I guess I've just seen too many situations in the last 10 years where we've had an injury without anybody competent to fill the spot for a period (Fahey in LF), or late-game situations where we never had the right pinch-hitter available, to worry much about somebody getting their feathers ruffled.

As currently composed, we have an extremely strong bench.

I think the challenge for Trembley will now switch to see how well he effectively uses that bench.

[Hank Scorpio]

I'll say this with relative certainty : he'll be out there on opening day.

[Elon Os Fan]

I'll say this with relative certainty : he'll be out there on opening day.

Yea.....Good luck CC

[Old#5fan]

Wigginton is a solid player and the contract is quite reasonable, so I think this is a good move. Still, it would be odd to spend this kind of money on a part-time player considering that the O's had decent cheaper options available who could have filled a similar role, like Salazar or Montanez.

That makes me think that the plan is to trade Scott and to make Wigginton the primary DH. Swapping Scott for Wigginton makes a certain amount of sense, given that Wigginton bats right handed and given that Scott has indicated to the media that he won't be a happy camper as a DH.

Still, the fact that Wigginton is available so cheap suggests that we shouldn't get our hopes up about what Scott might bring back in a trade. Scott is a productive hitter and he's under club control, but there are lots of Ty Wiggintons left out there in the free agent market who will also come cheap and who can be signed without giving up any talent. In fact, we may be in a situation where free agents will be cheaper than arbitration-eligible players for a few seasons, because salary arbitators tend to be slow in adjusting their numbers to sudden changes in market salaries. So Scott may not be seen as a bargain at all, in which case it's hard to imagine that we'll get much back in a trade. Maybe AM can identify someone else like Hill who is out of options and who is blocked in their current organization?

IMO Scott won't have much trade value for two reasons. One, he isn't much against LH pitching and two, he is so darn streaky. His stats are misleading as the hits all seem to come in bunchs in between spells where he is terrible at the plate.