The Astros have signed 33-year old righty swinging 1B/3B Mike Hessman to a minor league deal. Hessman played in 48 games in Japan last year and he was 25 for 130 (.192 avg, .637 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 6 homers and 14 RBIs. He last played in the majors back in 2010 with the New York Mets. Hessman has played in 109 games in his first five years in the majors and he is 42 for 223 (.188 avg, .694 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 14 homers and 33 RBIs. He has also whiffed 79 times already in his major league career as he has some pretty big holes in his swing. That being said, Hessman will get a shot to compete for a bench job this spring.