The Marlins have signed 31-year old righty swinging outfielder Austin Kearns to a minor league deal. He played in 57 games for the Indians last year and he was 30 for 150 (.200 avg, .589 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 2 homers and 7 RBIs. Kearns has now played in 1,019 games in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 873 for 3,432 (.254 avg, .767 OPS) with 498 runs scored, 117 homers, 478 RBIs and 31 stolen bases. Kearns will get a shot to win a bench job this spring.

The Marlins have signed 27-year old righty swinging IF/OF German Duran to a minor league deal. Duran played in 16 games in Independent and AAA-ball last year and he was 15 for 56 (.268 avg, .767 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 2 homers, 9 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Duran last played in the majors back in 2008 with the Texas Rangers. Duran has played in 60 games in his major league career so far and he is 33 for 143 (.231 avg, .624 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 3 homers, 16 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Duran will likely start the 2012 season in the minors.

The Marlins have signed 32-year old switch-hitting 3B/1B Terry Tiffee to a minor league deal. Tiffee played in 81 games in Indepent and AAA-ball last year in which he was 96 for 308 (.312 avg, .908 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 16 homers and 59 RBIs. Tiffee last played in the majors back in 2008 with the Dodgers. Tiffee has played in 97 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 55 for 243 (.226 avg, .626 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 5 homers, 29 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Tiffee will likely start the 2012 season in AAA-ball for the Marlins.

The Marlins have signed 35-year old righty reliever/starter Gary Glover to a minor league deal. Glover last pitched in the majors way back in 2008 with the Tigers and Rays. Glover has pitched in 263 games (47 starts) in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 29-26 with 3 saves, a 5.03 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. Glover will be a long shot to win the long man role in the bullpen for the Marlins in 2012.

The Florida Marlins have loaded up this winter as they prepare to start playing in their shiny new stadium in 2012. It all started with the signing of Jose Reyes, but they have added a lot more than just him. Most of the focus has been on tightening up the pitching staff both in the rotation and the bullpen, which they have done very successfully so far this winter. Here is a look at the new guys the Marlins have brought in so far this winter:

In the field: The Marlins hit a homer right off the bat when the signed shortstop Jose Reyes. He will really improve the defense at shortstop where Hanley Ramirez toted an iron glove. Ramirez isn’t happy about it, but he is starting to warm up about playing the hot corner. The Marlins have also added Aaron Rowand to compete for a backup job in 2012 and he is a Ozzie Guillen favorite from their days together in Chicago. Nick Green was also signed to compete for a backup infield job this spring.

On the mound: The Marlins really helped the starting rotation by signing lefty Mark Buehrle (another Guillen favorite) and trading for righty Carlos Zambrano. The Marlins now have one of the best starting rotations 1-5 in the major leagues. The Marlins also have signed closer Heath Bell to make late leads stand up and he’s really good at his job. Lefty starter/reliever Wade LeBlanc came over in a deal with the Padres and he will likely get a shot to be the Marlins’ long man in the pen in 2012. LeBlanc will have to beat out righty Chad Gaudin for the role of the long man in the pen this spring.

Overall: I think the Marlins have done an outstanding job of improving the team over the winter and they might not be done quite yet.