Ty Wigginton

Background
Houston’s starting 3B last year, Ty Wigginton was non-tendered by the Astros. He signs with the Orioles for 2 years, $6 million. Wigginton is 31 years old and has played 1B, 2B, 3B, LF, RF, and DH in the majors for the Mets, Pirates, Rays, and Astros.

Stats

Year	Tm	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS+
2008	HOU	111	386	50	110	22	1	23	58	4	32	69	.285	.350	.526	128
7 Yr		784	2715	350	734	163	11	110	384	32	218	534	.270	.330	.460	105

GG's Take
Early in his career, Wigginton looked like a four-corners utility player with some pop, an Eric Hinske clone without a job. With poor defense and questionable offense versus right-handing pitching, the Pirates released him in 2005. Unwanted, he washed up in Tampa Bay the following year and put up an 828 OPS, reestablishing himself as a viable weapon. In Houston, he continued to rake left handed pitching while showing barely passable defensive skills, thereby redefining himself upwards as a borderline starter for poor teams from 2006-8. In December, however, despite the lack of a reasonable replacement, the Astros chose to non-tender him rather than risk paying him 5-6 million in arbitration, a move that raised eyebrows but now appears prescient. While he was rumored to have several suitors, it seems clear that the promise of a second year is what brought him to Baltimore; certainly it’s not the team’s W-L record or openings at the corners that don’t appear, at first glance, to exist.

What Wigginton will get is a chance to mash lefties and in all likelihood a bit more, as Melvin Mora is unlikely to hold up at age 36 to the demands of a full season, and both Aubrey Huff and Luke Scott are possible trade bait. And while the second year in a deal like Wigginton’s is usually more a case of the team conceding to land a player who really only warrants a one-year deal, there’s actual value in having Wigginton on board to cover for impending FAs Huff and Mora at the corners in 2010. If I were Wigginton I’d seek out a one-year deal from the Giants, Twins, or even the Astros where I could be the featured guy, but in this economy, you can’t blame a guy for seeking maximum cash.

How does this affect the roster? Most likely, we’ve ensured that Nolan Reimold heads to Norfolk, which was already his likely destination. Beyond that, this move would appear to put the squeeze on Chris Gomez, but he’s our only legitimate SS behind Itzuris. Will we go North carrying Wigginton, Freel, Gomez, and a backup catcher on our bench? Depends on how many pitchers we carry and a million other factors.

ND's Take
If the Orioles can limit Wigginton to a strict platoon in which he only faces lefties, this has the potential to be a nice signing. If he becomes an everyday player, it's still not a terrible move for the money, but it's not going to add too much positive to the team's W-L record.

My concern with Wigginton is primarily that he's now 31, he's coming off a career year, and most of all, that career year was primarily the result of playing at Minute Maid Park. Check out these splits from last season:

Place	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	Split OPS+
Home	52	181	31	62	16	1	15	35	2	9	31	.343	.390	.691	176
Away	59	205	19	48	6	0	8	23	2	23	38	.234	.316	.380	105

In other words, Wigginton was 76% better than the average player playing at home, but 9% below average for players playing on the road. And that is AFTER adjusting for the fact that Minute Maid was a hitter's park!

How will that translate to OPACY, which is usually about average (or below average) as a hitter's park? Hard to say, but it doesn't bode well.