The Texas Rangers have signed 31-year old righty starting pitcher Brandon Webb to a 1-year, $3 million dollar deal plus incentives. Webb did not pitch last season as he was rehabbing his right shoulder and he only started 1 game for the D-Backs in 2009. Webb was the National League Cy Young Award winner in 2006 when he started 33 games for the D-Backs in which he was 16-8 with a 3.10 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. Webb also finished second in the Cy Young Award voting in both 2007 and 2008 (he won 22 games) in the National League. Webb has now pitched in 199 games (198 starts) in his first seven years in the majors and he is 87-62 with a 3.27 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. This was a good risk to take because if Webb is healthy he’s going to win a lot of games for the Rangers in 2011.

The Rangers have signed 41-year old lefty reliever Arthur Rhodes to a 1-year deal with a vesting option for the 2012 season. Rhodes pitched in 69 games (0 starts) for the Reds last season and he was 4-4 with a 2.29 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. He whiffed 50 hitters in 55 innings last season while only giving up 38 hits as he is still nasty. Rhodes has now pitched in 849 games (61 starts) in his first 19 years in the majors and he is 84-66 with 32 saves, a 4.06 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. I really like this signing for the Rangers as Rhodes will team with Darren Oliver to give them a nasty pair of lefties in the pen.

The Texas Rangers have signed 29-year old lefty swinging SS/2B Omar Quintanilla to a minor league deal. Quintanilla played in 34 games in AAA-ball for the Rockies last season and he was 30 of 119 (.252 avg, .669 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 1 homer, 15 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Quintanilla last played in the majors in 2009 with the Rockies. He has now played in 216 games in his first five years in the majors and he is 110 of 500 (.220 avg, .567 OPS) with 60 runs scored, 2 homers, 32 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Quintanilla won’t have a chance to make the Rangers next spring as he still has games to serve on a 50-game suspension he received last August for testing positive for performance enhancing drugs.

The Texas Rangers have signed 27-year old lefty starter/reliever Zach Jackson to a minor league deal. Jackson pitched in 35 games (5 starts) in AAA-ball for the Blue Jays last season and he was 2-3 with a 5.64 ERA and a 1.83 WHIP. Jackson last pitched in the majors in 2009 for the Indians. Jackson has now pitched in 22 games (17 starts) in his first three years in the majors and he is 4-5 with a 5.81 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. Jackson will get a shot to win a job in the pen for the Rangers next spring.

The Rangers have re-signed 32-year old lefty swinging outfielder Endy Chavez to a minor league deal. Chavez played in 8 games in Rookie+AA+AAA-ball last season and he was 12 of 31 (.387 avg, .876 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 2 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Chavez played last in the majors in 2009 with the Mariners. He has played in 827 games in parts of nine years in the majors and he is 605 for 2,237 (.270 avg, .679 OPS) with 289 runs scored, 19 homers, 190 RBIs and 87 stolen bases. Chavez is going to have a hard time breaking into the Rangers’ crowded outfield next spring.