St. Louis re-signed Woody Williams to a two-year, $14.9M deal early this week. Williams reportedly will earn $6M in 2003, $8M in 2004, and the club holds an $8M option for 2005 with a $900,000 buyout.

I fully support the Cardinals' decision to bring Williams back. Williams pitched strongly last season when not injured and the strained oblique muscle that caused his health problems should not bother him after a full off-season of rest. I doubt St. Louis will want to pick up that option for the third year and next season seems a bit expensive since he's already 36. However, they likely needed the length to entice him to stay, and if you view it as $8M for 2003 and $6M for 2004, he can probably perform up to those standards.

Despite his impressive comeback from near retirement this past season, it appears Andy Benes will not pitch in 2003. However watching him in the dugout during the playoffs, I wouldn't be at all surprised if he takes up coaching sometime in the next few seasons.

In a rather surprising move, San Francisco claimed Neifi Perez off waivers from Kansas City. Beyond the question of why the Giants would want to pick up a player with Perez's lack of offense, particularly when they already have a shortstop, it is difficult to understudy why they wouldn't wait until he cleared waivers and sign him as a free agent. Now they will have to follow the rules assigned to arbitration eligible players to sign him, likely inflating his cost. Perez had already passed through 26 of the 30 teams before he reached the Giants in the waivers process, and there was no risk of St. Louis, Arizona, or Atlanta claiming him. Even if another team was interested in Perez as a free agent, San Francisco still likely could have signed him if they were unable to convince Jeff Kent to return at second base.

Houston has signed several pitchers to minor league deals, including RHP Chris Gissell, RHP Eric Ireland, RHP Jonathan Johnson, RHP Miguel Saladin, and LHP Ken Vining. The Cubs drafted Gissell out of high school in the fourth round of the 1996 draft, and now he's leaving the Chicago organization for the first time as a minor league free agent. Pitching at AAA last season, he displayed strong dominance but allowed an overabundance of baserunners and homers. Given the number of pitching prospects in the Astros' system, I don't expect him to place highly on their priority list, although the 24-year-old still shows some promise.

Eric Ireland spent most of last season in the independent leagues, though the Astros had the 25-year-old play a few innings at AA. He also allows too many baserunners, so I doubt he'll even make the AAA rotation.

Jonathan Johnson hasn't fully committed to moving to relief full-time, but his skills are much stronger as a reliever. The 28-year-old could be a competent middle reliever in the majors with the ability to make a spot start when needed. Unfortunately, I'm unsure why these players felt that signing with Houston was a good career move as they have very few pitching openings at any level.

Houston first signed Miguel Saladin as a nondrafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 1995. Following the 1997 season, he went from being a position player to a pitcher. The 24-year-old spent most of 2002 in AA, where he displayed solid skills as a reliever, so I expect him to advance to AAA this year, though it will be hard for him to break into the major league pen.

Ken Vining is another first time minor league free agent. The 28-year-old displayed strong skills at AAA in 2001, but deteriorated upon repeating the level last year. Provided he rebounds, he might be a candidate for a mid-season call-up as an injury replacement, though there currently isn't an opening for him.

The Marlins have added OF-R Chad Allen, OF-L Chris Wakeland RHP Toby Borland, and RHP Rick Croushore to the list of player they've signed to minor league contracts. Allen is limited by his weak plate discipline, which prevents him from earning a job as a reserve outfielder even with his moderate power skills. Due to his past major league experience, the 27-year-old will likely be considered for an in-season promotion, but I don't think he'll break camp with the team or receive much playing time.

Chris Wakeland is breaking free from the Tigers' organization for the first time as a minor league free agent. His plate discipline unsurprisingly has not developed with Detroit, but he has moderate power potential and a bit of speed. Like Allen, the 28-year-old should spend most of the season at AAA, aside from a possible stint as an injury replacement.

Toby Borland was in the Florida organization last year and demonstrated very solid skills at AAA. The Marlins should consider the 33-year-old for a middle relief job in Spring Training and definitely keep him in mind in case of injury during the season. Rick Croushore is another inexpensive middle relief option. The 32-year-old demonstrated very solid skills for Tampa's AAA affiliate last season.

Colorado has signed LHP Chris Michalak, RHP Matt J. Miller, and CR-R Kit Pellow to minor league deals. I'll never understand why a pitcher with decent prospects would choose to sign with the Rockies. Michalak has proven that he's a capable lefty reliever, though the 31-year-old should really abandon his starting aspirations. I expect him to spend most of the season in the minors, but Michalak should receive several call-ups, particularly if there are injuries to the major league lefties, and he has a decent chance of being included in a trade.

There are two left-handed Matt Millers and one right-handed Matt Miller in baseball. Unfortunately, we can't just use middle initials, because one of the lefties and the righty both have a middle initial of J. RHP Matt J. Miller has made the bold career move of signing with the Rockies. The 31-year-old demonstrated strong skills at Oakland's AAA affiliate last season and should receive a few opportunities in the majors this year, though he'll likely spend most of the season in the minors, barring major injury problems in the big league pen.

Kit Pellow spent some time in the majors with the Royals last year. He has considerable power potential, but even when he hits for a decent average, it isn't supported by his plate discipline. He'll spend the season at AAA as injury insurance.

Lastly, OF-S Donzell McDonald signed a minor league contract with Atlanta. McDonald can take a walk, though he strikes out too frequently to have a truly high on-base percentage. The 27-year-old has very little power but possesses strong speed skills. He could find himself in the majors as a reserve if they don't acquire a veteran backup, but I don't expect the Braves to keep him rostered for very long at any one time.