The Cubs have signed 29-year old lefty starter/reliever Ryan Rowland-Smith to a minor league deal. Rowland-Smith pitched in 24 games (21 starts) in Rookie+AAA-ball last year and he was 2-11 with 1 save, a 5.90 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP. He last pitched in the majors back in 2010 with the Mariners. Rowland-Smith has now pitched in 115 games (47 starts) in his first four years in the majors and he is 12-17 with 2 saves, a 4.57 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. He will likely start the 2012 season in AAA-ball, but he could get a call from the Cubs at some point this year.

The Cubs have signed 38-year old lefty reliever Trever Miller to a minor league deal. Miller pitched in 48 games last year for the Cardinals, Red Sox and Blue Jays last year in which he was 0-1 with 1 save, a 3.80 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP. He has now pitched in 694 games (5 starts) in his first 13 years in the majors and he is 18-17 with 11 saves, a 4.18 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Miller will have a really good shot of making the Cubs’ bullpen this spring.

The Chicago Cubs have signed 34-year old switch-hitting 2B Bobby Scales to a minor league deal. Scales played in 148 games in AAA and Independent ball last year and he was 145 for 517 (.280 avg, .830 OPS) with 82 runs scored, 18 homers, 73 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. He last played in the majors with the Cubs back in 2010. Scales has played in 61 games in his first two years with the Cubs and he is 34 for 137 (.248 avg, .743 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 3 homers, 17 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He will get a shot to win a bench job this spring for the Cubs.

The Chicago Cubs have signed 29-year old switch-hitting infielder Mike Tolbert to a minor league deal. Tolbert played in 87 games for the Twins last year and he was 41 for 207 (.198 avg, .518 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 0 homers, 11 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He has now played in 247 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 139 for 605 (.230 avg, .607 OPS) with 76 runs scored, 3 homers, 54 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. Tolbert will get a shot this spring to win a job on the Cubs’ bench due to his versatility in the field.

The Cubs have signed 29-year old switch-hitting catcher Jason Jaramillo to a minor league deal. He played in 23 games for the Pirates last year and he was 14 for 43 (.326 avg, .751 OPS) with 1 run scored, 6 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Jaramillo has now played in 119 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 79 for 336 (.235 avg, .621 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 4 homers, 38 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Jaramillo will have a good shot of winning the backup catcher job for the Cubs this spring.