The Astros have signed 30-year old lefty reliever Jon Switzer to a minor league deal. Switzer pitched in 4 games (0 starts) for the Mets last season and he was 0-0 with a 8.10 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP. He also pitched in 41 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last season in which he was 1-3 with 4 saves, a 3.29 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. Switzer has not had much success in his major league career working in 72 games (0 starts) in which he is 2-4 with a 6.20 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP. He will likely get a chance to win a spot in the bullpen this season only because he’s a lefty.

THe Astros have signed 32-year old righty reliever/starter Matt Ginter to a minor league deal. Ginter pitched in 38 games (3 starts) in AAA-ball and he was 3-3 with 2 saves, a 3.81 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. He has also pitched in 96 games (19 starts) in his major league career in which he is 5-7 with 1 save, a 5.43 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. This was nothing more than a depth signing for the Astros as Ginter will have a hard time winning a job on the pitching staff this spring.

The Astros have signed 29-year old lefty starting pitcher Gustavo Chacin to a minor league deal. Chacin pitched in 20 games (19 starts) in AA+AAA ball last season and he was 9-4 with a 3.20 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. He was once a very solid pitcher in the majors before getting injured so maybe he’s getting back into a groove. He has pitched in 58 games (all starts) in his major league career and he is 25-15 with a 4.18 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. This was a good signing for the Astros who will give Chacin a chance to win a job in the starting rotation next spring.

The Houston Astros have re-signed 33-year old righty swinging outfielder Jason Michaels to a 1-year, $800,000 dollar contract. Michaels played in 102 games for the Astros last season and he was 32 for 135 (.237 avg, .752 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 4 homers and 16 RBIs. He has now played in 836 games in his career in the majors and he is 535 for 1,990 (.269 avg, .754 OPS) with 299 runs scored, 49 homers, 263 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. This was a good move for the Astros as Michaels was a decent back-up outfielder for them last year.

The Astros have signed 25-year old righty swinging shortstop Oswaldo Navarro to a minor league deal. Navarro played in 11 games in AA+AAA ball last season and he was 89 for 349 (.255 avg, .649 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 1 homer, 25 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Navarro has also played in 4 games in his major league career and he is 2 for 3 (.667 avg, 1.333 OPS). You can never have enough players like Navarro to stash in the minors in case you need them.

The Astros have signed 28-year old lefty swinging 2B Drew Meyer to a minor league deal. Meyer played in 120 games in AA-ball last season and he was 129 for 443 (.291 avg, .757 OPS) with 70 runs scored, 5 homers, 51 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has played in 5 games in his major league career and he is 3 for 14 (.214 avg, .429 OPS) with 1 run scored. Meyer will be stashed in the minors for the Astros and he will get a call if they have some injuries in the infield.

The Astros have signed 26-year old lefty swinging outfielder Alex Romero to a minor league deal. Romero played in 66 games for the Diamondbacks last season and he was 36 for 145 (.248 avg, .644 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 1 homer, 18 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has now played in 144 games in his two years in the majors and he is 67 for 280 (.239 avg, .619 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 2 homers, 30 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Romero will have a decent shot of making the Astros as a bench player next year so you have to like this signing.

The Astros have signed 29-year old righty swinging 1B Chris Shelton to a minor league deal. Shelton played in 9 games for the Mariners last season and he was 6 for 26 (.231 avg, .593 OPS) with 1 run scored and 4 RBIs. He has now played in 299 games in his major league career and he is 254 for 930 (.273 avg, .802 OPS) with 132 runs scored, 37 homers and 124 RBIs. This was a good move for the Astros because Shelton is a good hitter who can help them off the bench in 2010 and he’s cheap to boot.

The Astros have signed 29-year old righty reliever Roy Corcoran to a minor league deal. Corcoran pitched in 16 games (0 starts) for the Mariners last season and he was 2-0 with a 6.16 ERA and a 2.21 WHIP. He has now pitched in 82 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 8-3 with 3 saves, a 4.17 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP. Corcoran will have a decent shot of making the Astros’ bullpen this spring.

The Astros have signed 34-year old righty swinging 3B Pedro Feliz to a 1-year, $4.5 million dollar contract. Feliz played in 158 games for the Phillies last season and he was 154 for 580 (.266 avg, .694 OPS) with 62 runs scored, 12 homers and 82 RBIs. He has now played in 1,165 games in his ten years in the majors and he is 976 for 3,845 (.254 avg, .715 OPS) with 451 runs scored, 135 homers and 558 RBIs. This was a good signing for the Astros as Feliz is a solid defender and he should give them some thump out of 3B with the bat which they didn’t have last year.