Astros make no offer to Wigginton, tender six others

HOUSTON -- The Houston Astros made Ty Wigginton a free agent on Friday when they decided not to tender the third baseman a contract for next season.

Wigginton hit .285 with 23 homers and 58 RBI in 111 games last season with the Astros, who acquired him from Tampa Bay in 2007. He has a .270 career average, 110 homers and 384 RBI in seven major league seasons.

"It was a very difficult call to make on Ty, he did a tremendous job for us last season, but economics forced us to make this decision," general manager Ed Wade said. "I spoke with Ty and let him know that if there is an opportunity for us to adjust our payroll later in the offseason, we'd like to see if there's an opportunity to bring him back."

Outfielder Reggie Abercrombie, who is not eligible for arbitration, also did not receive a contract offer.

The Astros did tender left-handers Tim Byrdak and Wandy Rodriguez, right-handers Brandon Backe, Geoff Geary and Jose Valverde and catcher Humberto Quintero, all of whom are arbitration-eligible.

Wade said he hopes to work out a non-roster contract for Abercrombie that would allow him to compete for a major league job in the spring.