The Rangers have returned 25-year old righty reliever Coty Woods to the Rockies.  The Rangers selected Woods in the Rule 5 Draft over the winter.  Woods pitched in 61 games (0 starts) in AA+AAA-ball for the Rockies last year and he was 4-4 with 27 saves, a 3.20 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP.  Woods has pitched in 151 games (0 starts) in his first four years in the minors for the Rockies and he is 12-10 with 34 saves, a 2.81 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP.  The Rockies are probably pretty glad to get Woods back as he could make his major league debut for them at some point in 2013.

The Rockies have signed 33-year old righty starting pitcher Jon Garland to a 1-year deal worth $500,000 bucks with another possible $2 million bucks that he can earn in incentives.  He will be a part of the Rockies’ starting rotation when the 2013 season opens.  He pitched in 4 games (all starts) for the Mariners in spring training and he was 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP.  He last pitched in the majors back in 2011 with the Dodgers.  Garland has now pitched in 353 games (330 starts) in his first 12 years in the majors and he is 132-119 with 1 save, a 4.32 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP.  If Garland is healthy, he will give the Rockies’ starting rotation a nice boost.

The Rockies have signed 35-year old righty starter/reliever Giancarlo Alvarado to a minor league deal.  He pitched in 8 games (all starts) in Japan last year and he was 1-6 with a 3.92 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 431 games (187 starts) in his first 17 years in the minors and he is 84-77 with 4 saves, a 3.70 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP.  It never hurts to give a guy like this a chance, but I doubt that he will help the Rockies at any point in 2013.

The Rockies have signed 27-year old righty reliever Bobby Cassevah to a minor league deal.  He pitched in 4 games (0 starts) for the Angels last year and he was 1-0 with a 7.20 ERA and a 2.20 WHIP.  He also pitched in 49 games (0 starts) in A+AAA-ball last year for the Angels and he was 4-1 with 11 saves, a 5.79 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP.  Cassevah has now pitched in 50 games (0 starts) in his first three years in the majors and he is 3-3 with a 3.20 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP.  He will have a good shot of winning a job in the Rockies’ bullpen this spring.

The Rockies have acquired 27-year old lefty swinging infielder Reid Brignac from the Tampa Bay Rays for either a player to be named later or cash considerations.  Brignac played in 16 games for the Rays last year and he was 2 for 21 (.095 avg, .232 OPS) with 1 run scored and 1 RBI.  He also played in 99 games in AAA-ball for the Rays last year and he was 80 for 346 (.231 avg, .676 OPS) with 45 runs scored, 8 homers, 46 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.  Brignac has now played in 256 games in his first five years in the majors and he is 152 of 671 (.227 avg, .586 OPS) with 69 runs scored, 10 homers, 67 RBIs and 8 stolen bases.  This was a good pickup for the Rockies as a change of scenery could be just what the doctor ordered to revive Brignac’s career.

The Rockies have signed 32-year old righty swinging 1B Ryan Garko to a minor league deal.  Garko played in 77 games in AA+Independent ball last year and he was 95 of 289 (.329 avg, .909 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 12 homers and 56 RBIs.  He last played in the majors back in 2010 with the Rangers.  Garko has played in 463 games in his first six years in the majors and he is 427 of 1,552 (.275 avg, .781 OPS) with 190 runs scored, 55 homers and 250 RBIs.  Garko will be a longshot to win a bench job with the Rockies this spring.

The Rockies have signed 27-year old righty swinging outfielder Greg Golson to a minor league deal.  Golson played in 109 games in AAA-ball for the White Sox last year and he was 124 of 449 (.276 avg, .721 OPS) with 67 runs scored, 6 homers, 52 RBIs and 20 stolen bases.  He last played in the majors back in 2011 with the Yankees.  Golson has played in 40 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 8 for 41 (.195 avg, .548 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 0 homers, 2 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.  Golson will get a shot to win a backup outfield job this spring.

The Rockies have signed 34-year old righty swinging catcher Yorvit Torrealba to a minor league deal. He played in 64 games for the Brewers, Blue Jays and Rangers last year in which he was 44 of 194 (.227 avg, .623 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 4 homers, 17 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Torrealba has now played in 846 games in his first 12 years in the majors and he is 694 of 2,696 (.257 avg, .702 OPS) with 296 runs scored, 56 homers, 323 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. Torrealba will duke it out for the backup catcher job with Ramon Hernandez this spring.

The Rockies have signed 41-year old righty starter/reliever Miguel Batista to a minor league deal. He pitched in 35 games (5 starts) for the Braves and Mets last year in which he was 1-3 with a 4.61 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP. Batista has now pitched in 658 games (248 starts) in his first 18 years in the majors and he is 102-115 with 41 saves, a 4.48 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. Batista will have a good chance of winning a spot on the Rockies’ pitching staff in 2013, if he looks decent in spring training.

The Rockies have signed 26-year old righty starting pitcher Chris Volstad to a minor league deal. He pitched in 21 games (all starts) for the Cubs last year and he was 3-12 with a 6.31 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. Volstad has now pitched in 124 games (123 starts) in his first five years in the majors and he is 35-51 with a 4.87 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. Volstad will get a shot to win a shot in the rotation next spring.