Deivi Cruz agreed to a $500K, one-year deal with the Padres on Wednesday. Cruz, who was non-tendered by the Tigers, will likely serve as a back-up middle infielder for San Diego. Ramon Vazquez will be the Padres starting shortstop and D'Angelo Jimenez should play full time at second base.

Cruz has had significant troubles at the plate the last few years, alleviated only slightly by mild power numbers. There's little in his statistical profile to indicate that he's likely to progress offensively, though he did show slight improvement in the second half last season, bumping his batting eye from .25 to .46. Cruz will be 26 this season, so if he's ever going to improve, now should be the time.

His signing may bump Cesar Crespo off the roster, though San Diego could also look to trade Damian Jackson. As long as they limit his at-bats, picking up Cruz was probably a good move on the part of the Padres given his inexpensive salary.

On Thursday, San Diego signed Pete Incaviglia to a minor league deal. Incaviglia appears to be taking the long slow route to retirement after a brief but memorable major league career. The last time he played in the majors was in 1998, he spent last season in the independent leagues, and there's really no reason to expect him to receive a call-up to the Padres this season.

Dante Bichette signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers on Wednesday. I was going to recommend that LA use Bichette in a platoon against lefties. However, following a closer look at the numbers, it appears that he really doesn't have a platoon split, which is somewhat lucky for the Dodgers as none of his possible platoon partners can hit righties. While Bichette did hit .339 with a .403 OBP and a .446 SLG against left-handers last season, he only accomplished that in 112 AB. His career numbers against lefties closely resemble his career stats against righties, with the numbers against right-handers actually coming in slightly ahead of those against left-handers (.299 BA, .355 OBP, .477 vs. LH; .303 BA, .345 OBP, .511 SLG vs. RH).

As long as Brian Jordan or even Shawn Green can hold up in centerfield, Bichette is probably currently their best offensive option for an almost full-time third outfielder. However, I really dislike having both Bichette and Karros together regularly in a lineup. The club's lineup leans way too heavily to the right as it is, so the Dodgers should certainly keep looking for additional help if they want to see significant success this season.

On Thursday, Mike Lansing signed a minor league deal with Cleveland. He should make the team as a back-up middle infielder. There is a slight chance of a bit of a roster crunch, in which case he might have to compete with John McDonald, who is already on the 40-man roster, but I don't see that happening. The other factor to consider is that there is a small possibility that Jolbert Cabrera might start the season on the DL following some complications after he was shot in the buttocks during an attempted car jacking while visiting relatives in Columbia. If Cabrera is out of commission, then Lansing is almost guaranteed a roster spot for at least a little while.

John Valentin signed a minor league deal with the New York Mets on Wednesday. He will receive $550,000 if he makes the major league club, and could earn up to $1 million with incentives if he attains 500 PA. I think he should make the club as a back-up infielder, though I doubt he will reach the plate appearance bonus.

Many people have doubts about his health considering his multiple injury problems the last few years. The fact that Colorado failed to sign him after he underwent three days of a physicals with them has also cast some doubts. However it seems reasonable that the Rockies simply instead chose to go with the trade for Todd Zeile. Provided he is healthy, Valentin should definitely make the roster over players like Jorge Toca and Timo Perez.

Anaheim signed both Clay Bellinger and Donne Wall to minor league contracts on Thursday. Bellinger hasn't really hit well enough to deserve a roster slot recently, so he will likely spend the majority of the year at AAA and provide the club with a little depth in case of injury. Wall is an acceptable reliever, but the Angels already have a fairly nice pen from players currently rostered, so I would expect Wall to also at least start the season in AAA.

Mike James and Kent Mercker both signed minor league deals with Colorado this week. While I don't expect either to make the team, both are good pick-ups to add additional AAA depth to the Rockies pen. James still has a little stuff and will likely receive a call-up before the season ends. Mercker didn't pitch last season following a cerebral hemorrhage in 2000 but appeared to be on a downward swing even before that, so I'm not sure he'll see time in majors.

On Wednesday, Pat Mahomes signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs. Chicago already has an excess of right-handed depth, so Mahomes really shouldn't make the team out of Spring Training. However, he is a candidate for mid-season IP as an injury replacement. Provided they don't use him over more qualified pitchers or add him to the roster at the expense of prospects, he's probably decent AAA insurance.

Dan Miceli signed a minor league deal with Texas. Miceli will join the gaggle of pitchers competing for a spot in the Rangers' bullpen but will likely wind up spending most of the season in AAA.

The Yankees signed Mike Thurman to a minor league contract. I had high expectations of Thurman a year ago, but a fractured thumb prevented him from doing much of anything last season. As he has basically no shot at making the team, I can only hope he'll enjoy visiting the Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Columbus.

In other news, the Brewers signed Japanese pitcher Takahito Nomura to a one-year contract worth a reported $600,000. The left-hander is expected to make the team and provide additional depth to their bullpen. He's 33 and has 10-years of experience under his belt in the Japanese leagues, mostly in relief. If Valerio de los Santos is healthy to start the season, they will likely have three lefties in the pen with Ray King as the specialist. However, de los Santos should be capable of pitching in middle relief and the right side of the pen is a little shallow from injuries, so as long as Nomura performs well, there should be no problem carrying all three.