Rockies Sign Free Agent Ty Wigginton

Free Agency has begun, and as of 12:01 AM ET, players with the requisite amount of service time were eligible to file for free agency.

The Rockies were aware of this, and immediately got the hot stove blazing with what they consider to be a strong signing.

In an effort to expand their positional versatility and provide further opportunities for manager Jim Tracy to tweak his lineups on a daily basis, the Rockies announced that they have signed Ty Wigginton to another 2-year, $8M contract. 

"Ty really showed himself to be a gamer this past season. Having him taking consecutive ABs in the late innings will really put this club over the top. I can't imagine this club in 2012 without 2 Ty's on the roster. He meant so much to the organization and to me personally, well.... hell, I'd invite Ty to midwife my next child. There's room in our closet for you, big guy." -- recent groundbreaking acquisition Jason Giambi.

Wigginton, 34, impressed the Rockies' brass with his ability to play multiple positions, hold his glove on the correct hand, and bat from the right side of the plate. In fact, he impressed GM Dan O'Dowd so much during the 2011 season that the Rockies opted to sign Wigginton again - not to an extension, but actually to an entirely new contract. Wigginton will take up 2 spots on the 25-man and 40-man rosters, and will be eligible to start in 2 lineup slots during any given game, exercising the new "Ghost Runner" rule that MLB quietly instituted for managers such as Tracy and Tony LaRussa.