The Cubs have designated 25-year old righty reliever Casey Coleman for assignment. Coleman pitched in 17 games (1 start) for the Cubs last year and he was 0-2 with a 7.40 ERA and a 2.01 WHIP. Coleman pitched in 48 games (26 starts) in his three years with the Cubs and he is 7-13 with a 5.76 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP. This isn’t much of a loss for the Cubs.

UPDATE: (12/1/2012) - Casey Coleman has cleared waivers and he has accepted an outright assignment to AAA to stay with the Cubs in 2013.

The Cubs have signed 29-year old righty starting pitcher Scott Feldman to a 1-year, $6 million dollar deal. Feldman pitched in 29 games (21 starts) for the Rangers last year and he was 6-11 with a 5.09 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. He has now pitched in 204 games (101 starts) in his first eight years in the majors and he is 39-44 with a 4.81 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. I think the Cubs spent a little too much money on Feldman, but I think he will help them at the back end of the rotation in 2013. Getting out of Texas will likely be a good thing for Feldman.

36-year old righty swinging LF Alfonso Soriano finished tied for 20th in the N.L. MVP voting with Kris Medlen and Martin Prado of the Braves. Soriano played in 151 games for the Cubs last year and he was 147 of 561 (.262 avg, .821 OPS) with 68 runs scored, 32 homers, 108 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Soriano has now played in 796 games in his first six years with the Cubs and he is 806 of 3,041 (.265 avg, .819 OPS) with 422 runs scored, 164 homers, 475 RBIs and 60 stolen bases. Soriano was really productive despite not having much help in the lineup for the Cubbies last year.

The Chicago Cubs have signed 23-year old righty swinging outfielder Johermyn Chavez to a minor league deal. Chavez played in 81 games in Rookie+AA-ball for the Mariners last year and he was 64 of 265 (.242 avg, .768 OPS) with 45 runs scored, 10 homers, 34 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has now played in 678 games in his first seven years in the minors and he is 638 of 2,429 (.263 avg, .783 OPS) with 376 runs scored, 89 homers, 347 RBIs and 41 stolen bases. Maybe a change of scenery will get Chavez going back in the right direction.

The Cubs have signed 29-year old righty swinging infielder Alberto Gonzalez to a minor league deal. Gonzalez played in 24 games for the Rangers last year and he was 13 of 54 (.241 avg, .556 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 0 homers and 4 RBIs. He has now played in 402 games in his first six years in the majors and he is 216 of 893 (.242 avg, .596 OPS) with 91 runs scored, 3 homers, 85 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Gonzalez will get a shot to win a bench job next spring.

The Cubs have signed 28-year old lefty swinging outfielder Brian Bogusevic to a minor league deal. He played in 146 games for the Astros last year and he was 72 for 355 (.203 avg, .596 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 7 homers, 28 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. Bogusevic has now played in 252 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 124 of 547 (.227 avg, .656 OPS) with 66 runs scored, 11 homers, 46 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. He is going to have a good shot of winning a bench job with the Cubs next spring.

The Cubs have acquired 23-year old righty starting pitcher Barret Loux and a player to be named later from the Rangers for 24-year old righty starter/reliever Jacob Brigham. Loux came into last season as the Rangers’ #20 prospect according to Baseball America. Loux pitched in 25 games (all starts) in AA-ball for the Rangers last year and he was 14-1 with a 3.47 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. He has now pitched in 46 games (all starts) in his first two years in the minors and he is 22-6 with a 3.62 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Jacob Brigham was acquired by the Cubs from the Rangers in the Geovany Soto deal last July. Brigham pitched in 23 games (all starts) in AA-ball for the Rangers and Cubs last year and he was 5-7 with a 4.72 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. I like this deal for the Cubs as Loux seems like a pretty nice prospect for the future.

The Cubs have designated 30-year old lefty swinging 1B Bryan LaHair for assignment. LaHair played in 130 games for the Cubs last year and he was 88 of 340 (.259 avg, .784 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 16 homers, 40 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He actually made the N.L. All-Star Game as he played well before the Cubs called up Anthony Rizzo to replace him at 1B. LaHair played in 150 games in his two years with the Cubs and he was 105 of 399 (.263 avg, .799 OPS) with 51 runs scored, 18 homers, 46 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. This move is surprising, but maybe the Cubs will be able to deal him for a prospect.

UPDATE: (11/22/2012) - Bryan LaHair has signed on with the Softbank Hawks of Japan.

The Cubs have re-signed 27-year old righty reliever Blake Parker to a minor league deal. Parker played in 7 games (0 starts) for the Cubs last year and he was 0-0 with a 6.00 ERA and a 2.50 WHIP. He also pitched in 21 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last year in which he was 1-1 with 6 saves, a 3.42 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. Parker will get a shot to win a bullpen job for the Cubs next spring.

The Cubs have signed 28-year old switch-hitting catcher Dioner Navarro to a 1-year, $1.75 million dollar deal. He played in 24 games for the Reds last year in which he was 20 for 69 (.290 avg, .755 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 2 homers and 12 RBIs. Navarro has now played in 626 games in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 493 for 2,011 (.245 avg, .663 OPS) with 208 runs scored, 41 homers, 209 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Navarro was an All-Star for the Tampa Bay Rays back in 2008, which wasn’t that long ago. He will share time behind the plate with Welington Castillo for the Cubs in 2013.