The White Sox have signed 34-year old lefty swinging 1B Dan Johnson to a minor league deal. Johnson played in 31 games for the Rays last year and he was 10 for 84 (.119 avg, .389 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 2 homers and 4 RBIs. He has now played in 399 games in his first six years in the majors and he is 305 of 1,298 (.235 avg, .739 OPS) with 162 runs scored, 53 homers, 188 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Johnson will try to win a job on the White Sox’ bench in 2012.

The Chicago White Sox have signed 28-year old lefty starting pitcher Scott Olsen to a minor league deal with a club option for 2013. Olsen didn’t pitch at all last season due to a shoulder injury. He last pitched in the majors back in 2010 with the Washington Nationals. Olsen has pitched in 130 games (127 starts) in his first six years in the majors and he is 37-49 with a 4.85 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. This was a nice low risk move for the White Sox as Olsen was a decent starting pitcher earlier in his career.

The White Sox have signed 29-year old switch-hitting outfielder Delwyn Young to a minor league deal. Young played in 126 games in AAA-ball for the Phillies last year and he was 108 for 442 (.244 avg, .685 OPS) with 51 runs scored, 11 homers and 51 RBIs. He last played in the majors back in 2010 for the Pirates. Young has now played in 344 games in his first five years in the majors and he is 183 for 710 (.258 avg, .709 OPS) with 76 runs scored, 17 homers, 81 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Young will get a shot to win a bench job with the White Sox this spring.

The White Sox have decided to blow up the roster over the winter. They have not been getting many prospects back in the deals that they have made that are major league ready and they have not even joked about signing a free agent to a major league deal. Here is a look at some of the new guys who could play for the White Sox in 2012:

In the field: Infielder Osvaldo Martinez came to the White Sox in the Ozzie Guillen deal with the Marlins. He could win a utility job on the infield for the White Sox in 2012. Veteran Ray Olmedo will try to beat out Martinez for a backup job on the infield this spring. 1B/3B Corey Smith was once a highly touted of prospect but he has yet to play in the majors. Catchers Hector Gimenez and Damaso Espino have signed minor league deals with the White Sox and they could battle for the backup catcher job if the White Sox trade A.J. Pierzynski.

On the mound: Reliever Jhan Marinez also came to the White Sox in the Ozzie Guillen deal with the Marlins. He will have a good shot of winning a bullpen job with the White Sox this spring. Nestor Molina and Simon Castro are a couple of promising pitchers that the White Sox have acquired in deals over the winter, but they are longshots to pitch with the White Sox in 2012.

Overall: The White Sox still have a solid starting rotation (as of right now), and that could keep them out of last place in the A.L. Central in 2012.

The White Sox have signed 29-year old switch-hitting catcher Hector Gimenez to a minor league deal. Gimenez played in 4 games for the Dodgers last year and he was 1 for 7 (.143 avg, .286 OPS). He also played in 66 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 66 for 231 (.286 avg, .866 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 11 homers and 54 RBIs. Gimenez has now played in 6 games in his first two years in the majors and he is 1 for 9 (.111 avg, .222 OPS). He will likely start the season in AAA in 2012.