The Cubs have signed 29-year old lefty reliever Scott Rice. Rice pitched in 58 games (0 starts) in AA+AAA-ball last season for the Rockies and he was 2-1 with 7 saves, a 2.86 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. Rice has now pitched in 377 games (54 starts) in 12 years in the minors and he is 32-48 with 19 saves, a 4.25 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. Maybe Rice is finally starting to figure things out. The Cubs will likely give him a shot next spring to win a job in the bullpen.

The Cubs have re-signed 33-year old switch hitting IF/OF Bobby Scales to a minor league deal. Scales played in 10 games for the Cubs last season and he was 4 of 13 (.308 avg, .858 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 2 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 61 games in parts of two years with the Cubs and he is 34 of 137 (.248 avg, .743 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 3 homers, 17 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Scales will get a shot to win a bench job next spring.

The Cubs have re-signed 28-year old lefty swinging 1B Bryan LaHair to a minor league deal. LaHair played in 125 games in AAA-ball last season for the Cubs and he was 130 of 422 (.308 avg, .942 OPS) with 71 runs scored, 25 homers, 81 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. LaHair’s only major league experience to date came back in 2008 with the Mariners. In 2008, LaHair played in 45 games for the Mariners and he was 34 of 136 (.250 avg, .661 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 3 homers and 10 RBIs. LaHair will get a shot to win a bench job with the Cubs next spring.

20-year old righty swinging shortstop Starlin Castro finished 5th in the voting for the N.L. Rookie of the Year Award. Castro played in 125 games for the Cubs last season and he was 139 of 463 (.300 avg, .755 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 3 homers, 41 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Castro has a solid upside as a hitter but he is going to have to improve his D as he made 27 errors last season. Castro is likely going to be the Cubs’ starting shortstop for a long, long time.

The Cubs have signed 27-year old lefty swinging 3B/2B Scott Moore to a minor league deal. Moore played in 41 games for the Orioles last season and he was 18 of 86 (.209 avg, .611 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 3 homers, 10 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He has now played in 80 games in parts of four years in the majors and he is 41 of 184 (.223 avg, .640 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 7 homers, 27 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. This was a decent signing to bring back Moore to the Cubbies where he started his major league career.

30-year old lefty swinging 1B Micah Hoffpauir has left the Cubs to sign a deal with the Nippon Ham Fighters of Japan. Hoffpauir played in 24 games for the Cubs last season and he was 9 of 52 (.173 avg, .476 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 0 homers and 5 RBIs. He played in 162 games in parts of three seasons with the Cubs and he was 90 for 359 (.251 avg, .733 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 12 homers, 48 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Cubs won’t miss Hoffpauir too much and he will finally get a starting job so good for him.

28-year old lefty swinging outfielder Brad Snyder has rejected a minor league assignment from the Cubs and he has become a free agent. Snyder played in 12 games for the Cubs last season and he was 5 for 27 (.185 avg, .437 OPS) with 1 run scored and 5 RBIs. Snyder also played in 132 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 147 of 477 (.308 avg, .949 OPS) with 97 runs scored, 25 homers, 106 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. He should have little problem finding a team to give him a shot to make a team next spring.

32-year old righty swinging 3B Aramis Ramirez has picked up his player option for 2011 valued at $14.6 million bucks. Ramirez played in 124 games for the Cubs last season and he was 112 of 465 (.241 avg, .745 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 25 homers and 83 RBIs. He has now played in 975 games in 8 years with the Cubbies and he is 1,073 of 3,667 (.293 avg, .890 OPS) with 571 runs scored, 213 homers, 713 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. The Cubs probably wish Ramirez turned down his option but he’s not dumb. He couldn’t have gotten that kind of money in today’s free agent market. If Ramirez can stay healthy he will be a big time asset for the Cubs this year.

The Cubs have two free agents heading into this winter and I think the decisions on those players are going to be easy ones. Here is how I think the Cubs are going to handle these two guys:

Aramis Ramirez: 32-year old righty swinging 3B Aramis Ramirez played in 124 games for the Cubs last season and he was 112 of 465 (.241 avg, .745 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 25 homers and 83 RBIs. Ramirez has a player option valued at $14.6 million bucks for the 2011 season. VERDICT: Ramirez’ isn’t nuts so he will exercise his option and take the Cubs’ money in 2011.

Xavier Nady: 31-year old righty swinging 1B/OF Xavier Nady played in 119 games for the Cubs last season and he was 81 of 317 (.256 avg, .660 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 6 homers and 33 RBIs. VERDICT: I see the Cubs letting Nady walk.