The Braves have signed 28-year old righty reliever Adam Russell to a minor league deal. Russell pitched in 36 games (0 starts) for the Tampa Bay Rays last year and he was 1-2 with a 3.03 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. He has now pitched in 85 games (0 starts) in his first four years in the majors and he is 8-3 with a 3.95 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. This was an excellent signing for the Braves as Russell has a big time arm and major league experience. He is going to have a really good shot of making the Braves out of spring training in 2012.

The Braves have re-signed 25-year old lefty starter/reliever Yohan Flande to a minor league deal. Flande pitched in 33 games (19 starts) in AAA-ball for the Braves last year and he was 8-8 with 1 save, a 4.01 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. He has now pitched in 122 games (103 starts) in his first six years in the minors and he is 42-25 with 1 save, a 3.44 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. He will likely start the year in AAA and got a shot with the Braves in 2012 at some point if it’s warranted.

The Braves have signed 25-year old righty reliever Jason Rice to a minor league deal. Rice pitched in 45 games (1 start) in AAA-ball for the Red Sox last year and he was 4-5 with 4 saves, a 3.69 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. He has now pitched in 256 games (48 starts) in his first seven years in the minors and he was 26-31 with 24 saves, a 3.91 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Rice will get a shot to win a job in the pen next spring.

The Braves have signed 30-year old righty swinging catcher Jose Yepez. Yepez played in 48 games in AAA-ball for the Mariners last year and he was 47 of 153 (.307 avg, .846 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 3 homers, 26 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 631 games in his first 11 years in the minors and he was 567 of 2,097 (.270 avg, .743 OPS) with 282 runs scored, 37 homers, 309 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. Yepez will likely split time behind the plate in AAA with J.C. Boscan in 2012.

The Braves have signed 30-year old righty swinging 2B/SS/3B Josh Wilson to a minor league deal. Wilson played in 60 games for the D-Backs & Brewers last year and he was 19 for 85 (.224 avg, .611 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 2 homers, 5 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 356 games in his first five years in the majors and he is 211 of 930 (.227 avg, .597 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 9 homers, 67 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. Wilson will compete with Drew Sutton for a spot on the Braves bench next spring.