When the Astros signed Gregg Zaun to a 2-year, $2.35 million deal on Saturday, they went a good ways toward compensating for the misguided contract they awarded Brian L. Hunter. Zaun has solid defensive skills and a bat capable of playing full time.

Houston still has catcher Brad Ausmus and also just announced the signing of catcher Scott Servais to a minor league deal, but I still expect Zaun to receive a significant amount of playing time. The key variable should be manager Jimy Williams, who is notorious for his erratic roster management. Provided he sees the plate appearances, Zaun could put up some impressive numbers at Enron Field. Used effectively, he should definitely be worth every penny they paid.

The Astros have also made a few smaller moves in the last few days, signing Orlando Merced to a one year, $1 million contract with incentives that allow its total value to grow. He should continue to serve as a backup outfielder and pinch hitter for Houston. Between this and the addition of Hunter to the roster, Glen Barker may get squeezed out.

In addition to signing Merced, the team re-signed Doug Brocail to a minor league deal, and then added him to the 40-man roster a day later with a contract that guarantees him $750,000. Moreover, Brocail can earn up to $2.5 million in incentives. All in all, the contract could be worth as much as the club option the team chose to decline at the end of the season. There is a catch in that the relief pitcher just underwent Tommy John surgery at the end of April 2001, which carries a rehab and recovery time span of 12-18 months conservatively. Brocail would be looking to cut that short by several months, a very unrealistic goal.

Meanwhile, the Braves appeared to be doing their level best to negate the compliments I handed out to them after the Andruw Jones and John Smoltz signings. Atlanta signed Vinny Castilla to a contract worth a total of $8 million over 2 years ( $3.5M in 2002 and $4.5M in 2003). Castilla should start at third base for the Braves next year.

This means that Chipper Jones will be moving to left field this season, displacing B.J. Surhoff. The Braves will have to trade Surhoff or move him to first base, so right off the bat you have to do a lot of maneuvering in order to make Castilla fit. Now with all of the Braves prospects we discussed last week, someone is going to be left out in the cold because of this signing and it is most likely going to be Marcus Giles.

Giles is already in the majors, so he doesn't have the time to wait for his position to open up. Atlanta appears to prefer Wilson Betemit at his original SS position, so Rafael Furcal will eventually move to 2B to make room for Betemit. With Furcal at 2B, the only possibilities would be for Giles to move to 3B or the OF. If Betemit comes up next year then 3B will be occupied by Castilla, and after 2003 Giles will have to compete with Kelly Johnson and Travis Wilson for roster spots. Additionally, Atlanta has doubts regarding Giles' ability to hit for enough power to occupy 3B or LF, suggesting that the Braves soon will likely trade him to a team with more appreciation of his talents.

Although he performed well during his time with the Astros last season, Castilla is less than a year removed from being released by the Devil Rays. It is completely silly to invest this much franchise energy and guaranteed cash in such a risky aging position player. The only way to even mildly salvage this signing would be to move Castilla to 1B and leave Chipper at 3B for a bit longer, a move that doesn't help the Braves but can't be much worse than another year of Old Man Franco.

Older Stuff

Mark McLemore re-signed with the Seattle Mariners on Thursday for 6 million over 2 years. McLemore has traditionally played 2B, but he played a total of 6 different positions after the Mariners signed Bret Boone last year. I could try to guess at what this will mean in terms of the other moves Seattle is likely to make, but without at least one other variable identified, it wouldn't be much more than posturing.

The Mariners could use McLemore full-time somewhere, but are still looking to return an offense to the field that is as good or better than they had last season. There has been a lot of talk about trading for Colorado Rockies third baseman Jeff Cirillo, and although they haven't upped their original offer, the team still hopes to re-sign Bret Boone. Beyond possible improvement at 2B or 3B, the team is looking to pick up a new left fielder with several available on the free agent market. They also have the young Ramon Vazquez who could come up and fill a middle infield position sometime this year, so you can see why I'm a bit hesitant to make any predictions regarding McLemore's role on the 2002 Mariners.

Brady Anderson also found a new team on Thursday. Anderson, whose release by the Baltimore Orioles we discussed a two weeks ago, signed with the Cleveland Indians to bat lead-off and play left field. The Indians will only pay Brady the major league minimum of $200,000, with the Orioles picking up the tab for the remainder of his $4 million salary. Cleveland does have club options for 2003 and 2004, but given Anderson's advanced age, those will probably not be exercised unless he has a stunning comeback.

As you can imagine, this is an extremely cost-efficient move for the Indians. Anderson is generally expected to rebound at least partially from his dismal 2001, but if he fails to do so, Cleveland can easily cut bait on a guy only costing them the minimum. The biggest price they may have to pay for signing the outfielder is the loss of Steve Woodard.

In order to make room for Anderson on the 40-man roster, the Indians had to designate the right-handed pitcher for assignment. If Cleveland loses him on waivers or decides to release him, they have done themselves a disservice. Woodard also slumped last season, but he is still only 26 and has shown good potential in the past.

That's it for today; the winter meetings will provide us with plenty material for analysis the rest of this week.