Orioles sign Ty Wigginton to a 2 year deal

[Mark Carver]

Makes me wonder now. I beleive there must be a trade in the works for Scott. Huff is good as the DH. Wigginton plays 1st so to me Scott is the odd man out. Pie will be in LF. I was not looking for this at all.

Huff is a free agent at the end of THIS year.

Scott is a free agent at the of the 2011 season.

I'd much rather mover Huff, than a healthy Scott.

[Ruzious]

Here's Rotoworld's take:

Barring more moves Wigginton appears likely to be a part-time player in Baltimore, perhaps platooning with either Luke Scott or Aubrey Huff. That could change if the Orioles opt not to make Felix Pie the starter in left field, in which case Scott would move back there and Wigginton could step in as the everyday designated hitter. He'll also be insurance for Melvin Mora at third base, but the Orioles would no doubt like to avoid playing Wigginton there defensively.

I suppose you could think of him as an economy version of Huff.

[Peace21]

Im excited about how good Bowie and Norfolk maybe this year.

[TiredofLosing20]

I like this as a stop gap considering we do not have anyone one in the minors at a corner infield spot ready to step in (apologies JTrea dont think Moore is the answer). If this move isn't a precurser to anything else I am fine with that. I think that using him to spell Huff and Mora is a good thing. I worry about Mora this year. He played much better than I expected last year and think that this year could be a disaster for him.

I wonder if AM and DT are leaning less towards a 13 man pitching staff now? I wonder if they are more confident than a month ago that a 12 man staff will be sufficient due to the acquistion of Hill and Uehara and maybe Looper. I find it hard to believe that we would acquire Freel and Gomez without having them in our plans for this year. Right now you have Freel, Gomez, Wigginton and the back up catcher. The only one that you could get rid of in my opinion is Freel (not a SS) if you are going to have a 13 man staff. Interesting to see what happens from here.

[Don_Aase_Fan]

Wigginton provides ML quality backup at 1b/3B for this year and next and could step into a bigger role on a temporary basis if someone gets hurt.

He's a clear upgrade on whoever we remove from the 40 man roster and does not appear to block any prospect.

Seems like a solid move at a good price.

Excellent summation and I agree on all fronts. I especially like the contract as it is very fair for what Wiggington will give us. I still have a feeling that more moves will be made.

[Three Run Homer]

http://www.baseballmusings.com/archives/019282.php

"Ty Wigginton added catcher to his resume of positions last December"

Of course the article isn't talking about baseball

Cute story, thanks for posting.

[Peace21]

Its really interesting that the White Sox are trying to land Abreu.

[Tx Oriole]

Well, I also think that we really have an under-appreciated player in Scott. I think he could easily give us numbers better than last year's. He really was a joy to watch play.

I really hope that there is a plan that keeps him on this team, productive and happy.

I do too. But SJ I really don't see how he can still be on the team. If WIgginton goers to 1st and Huff is the DH. You know Pie is going to get the most time playing in LF instead of Scott. IMO

[anselmO]

What an excellent option to have as a PH late in a game against a lefty.

I agree with SilentJames, in that I hope there is a still a role on this team for Luke Scott. Poor guy, just can't seem to find a home. I think he's in for a really good season if Trembley can somehow find the AB's for him.

First we tell Luke he's going to be the DH. Now Andy has to make the call to him explaining that he is now possibly going to be PLATOONED at DH. That's going to be a tough phone call.

[fearthenoodle]

I'd have to think there is a 99% chance Wigginton starts Opening Day against CC now.

[Mackus]

I do too. But SJ I really don't see how he can still be on the team. If WIgginton goers to 1st and Huff is the DH. You know Pie is going to get the most time playing in LF instead of Scott. IMO

Splitting one position among 2 people makes it tough on players.

But, thats not what we're going to be doing next year. We'll be splitting 4 positions, LF, 1B, 3B, and DH, amongst 5 people, Pie, Huff, Mora, Scott, and Wigginton. You could even add Freel, Roberts and 2B into this equation. Or CF considering that is where Pie will play when Jones gets a day off.

There is a ton of flexibility on this roster.

[Ruzious]

What an excellent option to have as a PH late in a game against a lefty.

I agree with SilentJames, in that I hope there is a still a role on this team for Luke Scott. Poor guy, just can't seem to find a home. I think he's in for a really good season if Trembley can somehow find the AB's for him.

First we tell Luke he's going to be the DH. Now Andy has to make the call to him explaining that he is now possibly going to be PLATOONED at DH. That's going to be a tough phone call.

Yup, I'm not used to having decent hitters like Wiggy, Freel, and Dempsey's nephew available at the end of games. We're almost like an NL team.

I also feel uncomfortable about Scott's situation. I was hoping that with him being healthy, he'd put up numbers close to what Huff did last season - but he's not going to get the atbats.

[Three Run Homer]

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?

[mikezpen]

I wanted this one to happen-and for this length of time. Even more reason to move Huff because Wig's a RH and they're loaded w/LH hitters. Could be Luke Scott though.

They aren't done trading yet.I felt they'd be very active this winter and they have been. Maybe the moves haven't been earth-shaking but there have been a lot of them. And the fun ain't over yet.

[Night Owl]

I think Wiggington will turn out to be the best pickup this offseason.