FRIDAY: The Pirates have officially announced the signing.
THURSDAY 11:39am: Barmes and the Pirates have agreed to a one-year, $2MM deal, Olney reports (on Twitter).
11:13am: Clint Barmes has agreed to terms with the Pirates, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. ESPN's Buster Olney was the first to report that the Meister Sports Management client was nearing a return to Pittsburgh (Twitter link).
Barmes, who turns 35 in March, batted .211/.249/.309 with five homers for the Bucs in 2013. Though his offensive numbers were lackluster, he played stellar defense at shortstop, posting a +14.2 UZR/150 and +12 Defensive Runs Saved in just over 800 innings at the position.
Barmes will split time with Jordy Mercer upon returning. Though Mercer is a superior offensive player — he batted .285/.336/.435 — he doesn't have much of an offensive track record to this point in his career and isn't considered a strong defensive player.
