Wigginton gets salary bump for big year

Ty Wigginton went from being the biggest bargain on the Devil Rays roster to the second-highest paid player.

By Marc Topkin
Published January 17, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - Ty Wigginton went from being the biggest bargain on the Devil Rays roster to the second-highest paid player.

Wigginton avoided arbitration Tuesday by agreeing to a $2.7-million deal that ranks behind only leftfielder Carl Crawford's $4-million among 2007 salaries. Wigginton made $675,000 last season when he led the team with 24 homers and 79 RBIs while starting at five positions, and the Rays said they were happy to reward him. He can make $75,000 in incentives.

"When a player has a great year like Wiggy did, we're happy to pay for it," executive vice president Andrew Friedman said. "Hopefully he can repeat that year and we can pay him even more next year."

The Rays also avoided arbitration with closer candidate Seth McClung, who agreed to a $750,000 deal that more than doubled his salary. McClung made $343,000 last season, in which he went 2-10 with a 6.81 ERA as a starter and 4-2, 4.43 with six saves as a reliever. He can make $80,000 in incentives.

The Rays could not come to terms with backup catcher Josh Paul before exchanging figures and under a new team policy will go to a hearing. Paul seeks $940,000 while the Rays offered $625,000; he made $475,000 last year. Friedman said they adopted the policy to avoid settling at or near an arbitrary midpoint.

[Last modified January 17, 2007, 05:46:33]