The Chicago Cubs on Tuesday signed OF Reed Johnson to a $1.3 million, one-year contract.

Johnson, a 17th-round draft pick by Toronto in 1999, had been released by Blue Jays on Sunday after missing more than three months last season due to a herniated disc in his lower back. The Cubs reportedly hope Johnson will help out in center field – he started there on Tuesday against the Giants, going 2-for-5 with a double – as well as resting Kosuke Fukudome and Alfonso Soriano in right and left.

The Cubs also put RHP Angel Guzman on the 60-day DL because of an injury to his right elbow, and said that they expect southpaw Scott Eyre to start the season on the DL due to a bone spur in his left elbow.

There’s concern in Houston about the defense, or lack thereof, of the infield. Here’s a brief bit from a report on The Astros Dugout.

[Y]ou are right about our gawd awful infield defense – bobbles and bad throws (Tejada nearly got Newhan killed on a routine DP toss us the line right into the runner), missed pop-ups (Wiggy and Loretta both missed pops to them in fair territory on the infield dirt – unreal), and we have no range up the middle It is downright ugly.

That could make for a long year for the Astros. However, it’s not entirely unexpected. How good could the defense up the middle be when you switch out Adam Everett, arguably the best defensive shortstop in the league, with Miguel Tejada. Sure Tejada’s bat was better by far than Everett’s, but the whole steroids spectre has made it difficult to predict how much offense Tejada will produce.

That trade continues to look worse and worse.