The Reds have signed 35-year old righty swinging shortstop Orlando Cabrera to a 1-year, $4 million bucks. Cabrera played in 160 games for the A’s and Twins last season he was 186 for 656 (.284 avg, .705 OPS) with 83 runs scored, 9 homers, 77 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. He has now played in 1,732 games in his 13 years in the majors and he is 1,818 for 6,618 (.275 avg, .720 OPS) with 882 runs scored, 114 homers, 761 RBIs and 197 stolen bases. This was a great signing for the Reds as Cabrera is a good hitter who has won 2 Gold Gloves in his career. He is a huge upgrade over Paul Janish who will go back to coming off the bench for the Reds in 2010.

Little lefty starting pitcher Fred Norman was lucky enough to pitch for the Reds during the time of the Big Red Machine. He pitched in 231 games (196 starts) in seven years with the Reds and he was 85-64 with 1 save, a 3.43 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. The Reds brought out the best in Norman because he did not pitch too well for anyone else in his major league career. He pitched 9 years for teams other than the Reds working in 172 games (72 starts) in which he was 19-39 with 7 saves, a 4.08 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. Norman was a unsung hero for the great Reds’ teams of the 1970’s.

26-year old lefty swinging Joey Votto is probably the Reds’ best hitter so they need him healthy and focused the whole season in 2010. Votto played in 131 games for the Reds last season and he was 151 for 469 (.322 avg, .981 OPS) with 82 runs scored, 25 homers, 84 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. The Reds are putting a lot of faith in Votto as they don’t really have a back-up for him on the major league roster. Votto needs to improve his defense some as he made 10 errors in 130 games for the Reds at 1B last season.

22-year old lefty swinging 1B Yonder Alonso is one of the Reds’ best prospects and they would likely give him a call if Votto got injured and Alonso was playing well in the minors at that time. Alonso played in 84 games in Rookie+A+AA-ball last season in which he was 86 for 295 (.292 avg, .838 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 9 homers and 52 RBIs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 1B IN 2010: B+

The Reds have signed 35-year old righty swinging infielder Miguel Cairo to a minor league deal. Cairo played in 27 games for the Phillies last season and he was 12 for 45 (.267 avg, .705 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. He has now played in 1,227 games in his major league career and he is 893 for 3,361 (.266 avg, .672 OPS) with 432 runs scored, 28 homers, 320 RBIs and 128 stolen bases. This was a good little signing for the Reds as Cairo should be able to help them off the bench in 2010 if he makes the team.

The Reds have signed 25-year old righty reliever Jose Arredondo to a minor league deal. He is going to have Tommy John Surgery right before spring training starts but the Reds have their eyes on him for the future. Arredondo pitched in 43 games (0 starts) for the Angels last season and he was 2-3 with a 6.00 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. He has now pitched in 95 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 12-5 with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. He has only allowed 89 hits in 106 innings in the majors while whiffing 102 batters. This was a great move for the Reds as Arredondo could come back throwing heat in 2011.