Bywater will wear squad no. 43, a tribute to his former coach, Les Sealey, who died suddenly at that age.
Jason Brown will wear sqaud no. 13.
Dave Jones had almost signed Chris Kirkland before that deal fell through.
“We needed to bring in experienced goalkeepers with quality,” said Jones. “That would ensure the players around them will feel confident and aren’t trying to nurse goalkeepers through a game.
“Chris Kirkland was on my list and he came down for talks. I thought the deal had been done, but there was a hitch at the Wigan end.
“We had agreed everything with Wigan and Chris.
“Whatever the issue was it’s between Chris and his club.”