According to Roch Kubatko of MASN, the Orioles finalized their two-year deal for Ty Wigginton and designated Scott Moore for assignment to make room. The Wiggy signing has led many MLBTR readers to wonder if Luke Scott could be available in trade.
Ty Wigginton
Odds and Ends: PECOTA, Wigginton, Tanaka
Links for Tuesday…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- PECOTA projects the standings. The projection system’s playoff teams are the Red Sox, Yankees, Indians, A’s, Mets, Cubs, and Diamondbacks (plus a one-game Braves-Phillies playoff).
- Ty Wigginton’s deal should be official today or tomorrow. Additionally, the Orioles are close to signing reliever Ryohei Tanaka to a minor league deal according to Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun.
- RotoAuthority ranks the third basemen for fantasy baseball.
- I will be doing a radio interview at 3:30 CST today on WKNT in Florida. At that time you can click here to listen.
Odds and Ends: Wigginton, Prior, Andruw
Links for Monday…
- Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun says the Orioles are "bringing Ty Wigginton back for further examination this week."
- Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune snagged this Mark Prior quote: "If Kurt Warner can disappear for five years, I can disappear for three."
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs points out that a Jermaine Dye career path is Andruw Jones’ best case scenario.
- Baseball America has a run-down of all the minor league transactions between January 31 and February 6.
- Athletics Nation wonders if the A’s could bring Mark Mulder in to fill a lefty reliever role.
- I did a Q&A with We Should Be GMs.
Rosenthal On Peavy, Ohman, Looper
Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- Jeff Moorad’s acquistion of the Padres does not affect the likelihood of a Jake Peavy trade, according to Rosenthal’s source. There have been no recent conversations with the Cubs about Peavy.
- The Phillies had been confident of signing Ty Wigginton before the Orioles offered two years. The Phils are still mulling Nomar Garciaparra and Rich Aurilia, with the Giants also in on Aurilia. The Phillies are out on Will Ohman.
- Braden Looper is receiving interest from Baltimore, but he prefers the NL. The Brewers are not optimistic about signing Looper despite a recent conversation with one of his agents (Tom Haudricourt believes the Brewers are "laying in the weeds" for when the right pitcher comes along). Looper is Plan B behind Randy Wolf for the Dodgers, and not a candidate to return to the Cardinals (who are apparently out of money). One other team known to have interest in Looper is the Pirates.
Odds and Ends: Costas, Red Sox, Wigginton
A few little items worth checking out on a slow Tuesday night in the baseball world…
- Bob Costas is leaving HBO for the MLB Network. They really are assembling a heck of a cast over there (depending on your preference, of course).
- Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun interviews brand new Oriole Ty Wigginton.
- Major League Baseball suspended Marlins infielder Pascual Arias 50 games for violating terms of the league’s Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Arias tested positive for metabolites of Stanozolol.
- It looks like "Citi Field" is going to keep its name.
- The Providence Journal takes a position-by-position look at the 2009 Red Sox.
- Oh, and check out Tim’s chat transcript from earlier today.
Orioles Sign Ty Wigginton
11:52am: Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun says Wigginton gets a two-year, $6MM deal. The O’s had originally offered one year with a club option but upped their offer due to competition from the Giants and other clubs.
8:16am: According to Ken Rosenthal, the Orioles signed Ty Wigginton to a two-year contract. Wigginton, 31, was non-tendered by the Astros after hitting .285/.350/.526 in 429 plate appearances while playing third base and left field. His ’08 numbers are dampened by his poor performance away from Minute Maid Park. Rosenthal says Wiggy will see time at first base and DH with the Orioles.
Reds Rumors: Gonzalez, Wigginton, Encarnacion
The latest from John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, who spoke to Reds GM Walt Jocketty recently…
- Jocketty is working on bringing some "fringe guys" to camp on minor league deals. It’s been weeks since he talked to Luis Gonzalez’s agent. MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon learned of the Reds’ interest in Gonzo yesterday.
- In reference to Ty Wigginton, Jocketty said, "They’re getting close to desperate stage. But we’re really only looking at bench help."
- Jocketty isn’t handling the Edwin Encarnacion talks, but he expects to settle. Encarnacion filed at $3.7MM, the Reds at $2.55MM (midpoint of $3.125MM).
Phillies Still Eyeing Right-Handed Bats
8:18pm: Philadelphia’s search for a right-handed bat continues. Alden Gonzalez adds an update on MLB.com.
Names the Phillies have been linked to in that regard include Nomar Garciaparra, Ty Wigginton, Moises Alou, Rich Aurilia, Mark Grudzielanek and Kevin Millar, Gonzalez wrote.
Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. told Gonzalez that the addition does “not necessarily” need to be an infielder, though a little insurance while Pedro Feliz and Chase Utley recover from offseason surgeries wouldn’t hurt.
“We’re looking for a guy that has a bit of that versatility that’s needed in the National League,” Amaro told Gonzalez.
Jan. 23: Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer has the latest on the Phillies’ pursuit of a right-handed bench bat. Names of interest: Nomar Garciaparra, Moises Alou, Mark Grudzielanek, Rich Aurilia, and Kevin Millar.
Salisbury says Garciaparra is the team’s first choice, but Ruben Amaro Jr. remarked, "We can’t be held hostage by Nomar, though he’d be a guy we’d like to bring in." Salisbury’s source says the Phils are going "pretty hard" after Alou, who will attempt to re-establish his health in the World Baseball Classic. Two issues there: Alou’s playing time expectations may be too high, and he reportedly prefers the AL where he can DH.
Phillies Interested In Wigginton
According to David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News, the Phillies are interested in Ty Wigginton.
Wigginton, who hit .285/.350/.526 in 429 plate appearances with Houston last year, would be an option at third base in case Pedro Feliz’s back injury continues to be a problem.
Murphy reports that the Phillies have also looked at Rich Aurilia as an option at third base.
Odds and Ends: Arb, Royals, Compensation
Links for Tuesday…
- Chat today, 3pm CST (one hour later than usual).
- 16 starters were chosen within the first seven rounds of 2008 fantasy drafts. How many were worth it?
- Confused about all this arbitration stuff? Read this.
- Fred Claire notes that teams continue to sign pitchers to long-term deals.
- Just for the fun of it, Joe Posnanski envisions a Royals alternate reality where they drafted perfectly in 1999.
- Mike Axisa attempts to fix the free agent compensation system.
- Rinku and Dinesh hang with Barry Bonds.
- Ken Davidoff suggests the Mets sign Ben Sheets, Jon Garland, and Ty Wigginton.
- We’ve been doing many entries lately so be sure to check Page Two and Page Three for more.
