Chris Sampson and Gabe Gross tentatively sign with Marlins

Chris Sampson and Gabe Gross have tentatively signed with the Marlins.

Joe Frisaro has the story.

Right-handed reliever Chris Sampson and outfielder Gabe Gross are close to signing Minor League deals. They have reached agreements, pending completions of their physicals on Monday.

Sampson appeared in 174 games with the Astros from 2006-10. He was in the Rockies' Minor League system this spring. Sampson is 20-15 with a 4.42 ERA in his career. He's also made 33 starts, but none since 2008. In 2010, the right-hander appeared in 35 games, and he threw 30 1/3 innings.

Gross, 31, is a left-handed-hitting outfielder with seven years of big league experience, and he has 40 career homers. He is a career .239 hitter, and he played in 105 games last year with Oakland.

Gross is a low average, low on-base, low slugging outfielder. However, he is okay in the field. Not great but passable.

Chris Sampson is the intriguing one of the possible signers. Sampson had a bicep injury in 2010 and spent sometime on the DL. Not to mention he has had shoulder problems in the past. That in the record: he is a right-handed junker, but had some success at being one a few years ago.

I don't see either of them contributing to the big club this season, they will probably just be insurance with the main goal of helping out the young talent in New Orleans.