Pirates GM Neal Huntington says that the trade talk surrounding Ryan Doumit has "kind of died" for now, writes Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. This appears to be a recent development, as Huntington confessed just two weeks ago that the club could deal the catcher before Opening Day.
“Things kind of died, in terms of most conversations, once you get into February,” the GM said. “They (usually) pick back up again the first couple weeks of games. Right now is a very quiet period for most clubs.”
As our own Mark Polishuk recently explained, 2011 is a make or break year for Doumit. The Pirates hold options on the soon-to-be 30-year-old worth $7.25MM in 2012 and $8.25MM in 2013 but the club will almost certainly choose to pay a $500K buyout instead.
Huntington also indicated today that if the Pirates decide they can’t keep Rule 5 pick Josh Rodriguez on the roster, they will first try to work out a trade with the Indians in order to keep him.
