The Cubs have brought back 33-year old righty reliever Kerry Wood on a 1-year, $1.5 million dollar deal. Wood pitched in 47 games (0 starts) last season for the Yankees & Indians and he was 3-4 with 8 saves, a 3.13 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. In his two years since he left the Cubs, Wood has pitched in 105 games (0 starts) in which he was 6-7 with 28 saves, a 3.74 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. Wood only allowed 83 hits in 101 innings the last two years while whiffing 112 batters showing that his excellent stuff is still intact. Wood pitched in 276 games (178 starts) in his first 10 years with the Cubs and he is 77-61 with 34 saves, a 3.61 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Wood will serve as Carlos Marmol’s set up man in 2011. I love this signing for the Cubs as they got Wood to give them a huge home town discount.

The Cubs have released 26-year old righty reliever David Patton. Patton pitched in 39 games (0 starts) in A-ball last season and he was 2-5 with 3 saves, a 5.03 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP. He walked 42 batters in only 59 innings and that is a big reason why he’s probably looking for a new job. Patton pitched in 20 games (0 starts) for the Cubs in 2009 and he was 3-1 with a 6.83 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP. The Cubs won’t miss Patton.

The Cubs have re-signed 28-year old lefty swinging outfielder Brad Snyder to a minor league deal. Snyder played in 132 games in AAA-ball last season for the Cubbies and he was 147 of 477 (.308 avg, .949 OPS) with 97 runs scored, 25 homers, 106 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. Snyder got his first taste of the majors last season when he played in 12 games for the Cubs in which he was 5 for 27 (.185 avg, .437 OPS) with 1 run scored and 5 RBIs. Snyder will get a chance to win a spot on the Cubs’ bench next spring.

The Cubs have re-signed 25-year old lefty swinging outfielder Jim Adduci to a minor league deal. Adduci played in 114 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 91 of 367 (.248 avg, .604 OPS) with 60 runs scored, 3 homers, 33 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. He has now played in 561 games in his first seven years in the minors and he is 543 of 1,965 (.276 avg, .698 OPS) with 288 runs scored, 13 homers, 220 RBIs and 112 stolen bases. Maybe this will be the season that Adduci makes his major league debut.

The Cubs selected 23-year old righty starting pitcher Mason Tobin away from the Angels in the Rule 5 Draft. They then dealt Tobin to the Texas Rangers for cash considerations. The Cubs probably made a good move here as Tobin has only pitched in 3 games the last two years due to Tommy John Surgery which he had in April of 2009.