The Braves have signed 30-year old righty swinging catcher J.R. House to a minor league career. House played in 127 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 127 of 505 (.251 avg, .650 OPS) with 58 runs scored, 9 homers and 53 RBIs. He last played in the majors in 2008 with the Astros. House has played in 32 games in his major league career and he is 10 of 60 (.167 avg, .573 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 3 homers and 4 RBIs. This was a signing for organizational depth and little more as House will likely start the year in AAA.

The Braves have signed 27-year old righty reliever Chris Resop to a minor league deal. Resop left the Braves last season to pitch in Japan. He pitched in 16 games (0 starts) for the Braves in 2008 and he was 0-1 with a 5.89 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. He has now pitched in 57 games (0 starts) in his four years in the majors and he is 3-3 with a 5.61 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP. He has walked 36 batters and given up 68 hits in only 61 innings in the majors so he will need to improve this spring to pitch for the Braves.

The Braves have designated 26-year old lefty swinging outfielder Brandon Jones for assignment. Jones played in 5 games for the Braves last season and he was 4 for 13 (.308 avg, .778 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI. He also played in 107 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 108 for 384 (.281 avg, .779 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 7 homers, 57 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Jones has played in 51 games in his career with the Braves and he is 38 for 148 (.257 avg, .678 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 1 homer and 22 RBIs. It will be interesting to see if Jones makes the Braves pay for this or not as he was once one of the brighest prospects in the organization.

UPDATE: Jones has been claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Braves have signed 32-year old lefty swinging 1B/3B/LF/RF Eric Hinske to a 1-year deal. Hinske played in 93 games for the Yankees and Pirates last season and he was 46 for 190 (.242 avg, .780 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 8 homers and 25 RBIs. Hinske has now played in 996 games in his major league career and he is 785 for 3,096 (.254 avg, .774 OPS) with 476 runs scored, 113 homers, 424 RBIs and 61 stolen bases. This was a great signing for the Braves because Troy Glaus and Chipper Jones are both a little injury prone and Hinske can handle both positions defensively while providing some power with the stick. He could also work his way into a platoon with Matt Diaz in RF if the Braves don’t bring in another outfielder. Eric Hinske has played in three straight World Series so maybe he will be a good luck charm for the Braves this year.

The Braves have signed 33-year old righty swinging Troy Glaus to take over as the starting 1B in 2010. His deal is worth $2 million bucks plus incentives and it’s a 1-year deal. Glaus played in only 14 games last season as he was recovering most of the year from shoulder surgery and he was 5 for 29 (.172 avg, .491 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs. He has now played in 1,409 games in his 12 years in the majors and he is 1,276 for 4,998 (.255 avg, .856 OPS) with 837 runs scored, 304 homers, 879 RBIs and 56 stolen bases. This is a good gamble for the Braves as Glaus is a excellent power hitter.