Miami Marlins announce deal with Ty Wigginton

At this point you have to wonder if Major League teams are just trolling Nelson Cruz and Kendrys Morales. Put aside the talks about compensatory draft picks for a moment (not something to be overlooked, but let’s do it anyway). Teams are obviously in need of power bats. They need pop from the premium positions from which those power numbers are supposed to come: the corners of the outfield, third base and first base.

Cruz plays the corners of the outfield. His phone’s not ringing. Morales plays first base. Crickets. Instead teams are signing guys like Delmon Young and Ty Wigginton.

The Miami Marlins announced a minor league deal with an invite to big league camp for Wigginton on Friday night:

To be fair, the Marlins were never even remotely in the conversation for Cruz and Morales. Still, the context is interesting in that teams seem content to take low-risk chances on veterans who might be washed up to find power instead of paying the oppressive costs (draft picks included) for Cruz or Morales.

As for Wigginton, he played for the St. Louis Cardinals last year…kind of. He appeared in 47 games and batted .158/.238/.193 before being released in July. He has 169 career home runs, but he is a pull-happy hitter who has not been able to turn on Major League fastballs for a while now. He will be 36 years old for the 2014 season.