The Diamondbacks have signed 35-year old righty starting pitcher Kris Benson to a minor league deal. Benson pitched in 8 games (2 starts) for the Rangers last season in which he was 1-1 with a 8.46 ERA and a 2.02 WHIP. Benson also pitched in 12 games (11 starts) in AA+AAA ball last year in which he was 4-6 with a 5.25 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. He has now pitched in 203 games (197 starts) in his major league career in which he is 69-74 with a 4.41 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. Benson will have a decent chance of getting back to the majors this season with the D-Backs especially with Brandon Webb hurting right now.

26-year old lefty swinging Miguel Montero took full advantage of Chris Snyder’s injury last season and he established himself as the starter for 2010 and beyond. He played in 128 games for the D-Backs last season and he was 125 for 425 (.294 avg, .833 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 16 homers and 59 RBIs. Montero gives the D-Backs another solid bat when he is in the line-up. He is not the best defensive catcher around however as he made 9 errors and had 4 passed balls in 111 games behind the plate. He did throw out 21% of the runners trying to steal against him but D-Backs’ pitchers had a 4.11 ERA with him behind the plate so they like to throw to him.

The D-Backs have been trying to trade 28-year old righty swinging Chris Snyder but they have had no luck as of yet due to his bad back. He played in 61 games for the D-Backs last season and he was 33 for 165 (.200 avg, .685 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 6 homers and 22 RBIs. The Diamondbacks are really hoping that he hits more like his career norms of .233 with a .731 OPS in 2010. Snyder didn’t make any errors in 56 games behind the plate last season for the D-Backs but he did have 3 passed balls. Snyder only threw out 16% of runners trying to steal on him last season and pitchers had a 4.62 ERA with him behind the plate.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CATCHERS IN 2010: B

The D-Backs have designated 33-year old righty swinging outfielder Eric Byrnes for assignment to make room on the roster for Adam LaRoche. Byrnes played in only 84 games last season in which he was 54 for 239 (.226 avg, .663 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 8 homers, 31 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. He played in 439 games in his four seasons with the D-Backs and he was 426 for 1,633 (.261 avg, .764 OPS) with 239 runs scored, 61 homers, 216 RBIs and 88 stolen bases. Byrnes was really good his first two years with the D-Backs but injuries have ruined his last two years. The D-Backs will miss having Byrnes around because of how hard he played the game as it was a good example to the younger players on the team.

UPDATE: The Diamondbacks have released Eric Byrnes after he cleared waivers.

The Diamondbacks have signed 30-year old lefty swinging 1B Adam LaRoche to a 1-year deal. He played in 144 games for the Red Sox, Braves and Pirates in which he was 149 for 536 (.278 avg, .844 OPS) with 76 runs scored, 24 homers and 80 RBIs. He has now played in 838 games in his major league career and he is 787 for 2,877 (.274 avg, .834 OPS) with 402 runs scored, 136 homers and 469 RBIs. This was a outstanding move for the D-Backs as LaRoche came to them under market value somewhere between $4 and $5 million bucks.

The Diamondbacks have signed 27-year old lefty swinging 2B Kelly Johnson to a 1-year deal. Johnson played in 106 games for the Braves last season and he was 68 for 303 (.224 avg, .692 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 8 homers, 29 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. He has now played in 490 games in his four years in the majors and he is 439 for 1,661 (.264 avg, .777 OPS) with 270 runs scored, 45 homers, 206 RBIs and 29 stolen bases. Johnson will come to spring training as the likely starting 2B for the D-Backs in 2010. I really like this signing as the price was right for a player who has something to prove.