Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review relays a host of updates on the Pirates (all links to Twitter):
- One area where GM Neal Huntington hopes to make a move is at first. Though the club believes that Gaby Sanchez can increase his production against same-handed pitching, he is still in need of a platoon partner to hit righties.
- The Pirates have joined seven other clubs in reaching out to shortstop Rafael Furcal, his representatives at Kinzer Management Group told Sawchik.
- Turning to the still-unresolved situation of free agent starter A.J. Burnett, Huntington said he was hoping to see some movement. "It has not inhibited our abiity to do things at this point in time," said Huntington, "but there is no question it is something we would like to see move forward if it's possible. If not, we'll have to operate as we see fit." The GM had more pointed words as well, telling MLB.com's Tom Singer that, "if he or others want a market-value deal, they'll sign elsewhere." As Singer notes, there must be at least some temptation for Burnett to look outside the Pittsburgh market given the money promised recently to mid-to-late 30's starters like Dan Haren ($10MM, one year) and Tim Hudson ($23MM, two years).
- On the club's acquisition today of outfielder Jaff Decker and righty Miles Mikolas, Huntington noted that Decker can play anywhere in the outfield and has a realistic shot at making the team's active roster out of Spring Training. Huntington also indicated that Decker has appeal both from an analytic and a scouting perspective. As for Mikolas, Huntington indicated that his groundball inducing abilities were the primary draw.
- Meanwhile, Garrett Jones, who lost his roster spot as part of the day's dealings, was just going to be too expensive to bring back, according to Huntington. "[T]he arbitration process was likely to drive the dollars above where we were comfortable," the GM said. Decker's move to Pittsburgh could also have an impact on Travis Snider, with respect to whom Huntington would only say that the front office is "working through the process."
