Garrett Jones News

Despite Jeff Clement's desire to eventually work his way back behind home plate, the Pirates have every intention of giving Clement the chance to seize the team's immediate vacancy at first base.

The Hot Stove scene will shift to Indianapolis on Monday, as baseball executives, agents and writers descend upon the Midwestern city for the annual Winter Meetings.

Would another lefty hitter like Hank Blalock, right, be the best fit for the Pirates? Browse more photos>> Straight to the point today: one thing I find a bit strange about the idea of the Pirates pursuing Rick Ankiel and/or Hank Blalock is that both those guys are left-handed, whereas most of the Bucs' other options at first base and right field ...

Free agency kicked off last night at midnight. The Pirates have not signed John Lackey yet, and so I'm going to picket PNC Park when I'm home over Thanksgiving.

While most fans are concentrating on the potential destinations and paydays of the "big name" free agents, more than 500 Minor Leaguers have become six-year free agents, and they will also be looking for jobs.

It's subscription-only, unfortunately. This is a nifty writeup of the available minor league free agents.

The pool of possibilities is about to become a free-for-all. Thursday marks the final day that teams have exclusive negotiating privileges with its own free-agent players.

While the Hot Stove league sizzles with talk about where this year's crop of newly minted Major League free agents will land, little attention is given to the 500-plus Minor Leaguers who fill the ranks of the six-year Minor League free-agent pool each year.

Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen finished fourth in voting for the National League Rookie of the Year Award.

Awards season keeps rolling on Monday, and once again a Cardinal is at least a candidate to receive some votes.

Tuesday officially begins a two-week period in which Major League Baseball hands out its postseason awards for 2009.

Latest sign that things are slowly changing on Federal Street: when the Red Sox traded for Jeremy Hermida yesterday and only gave up two minor league arms, I didn't go apopletic about the Pirates not being involved.

Yesterdaya s trade of Jesse Chavez for Akinori Iwamura was hardly a blockbuster.

Andrew McCutchne's rookie season with the Pirates went about as well as he could have hoped.

A Pirates rookie received a big honor Monday morning from a national magazine. 'Baseball America' named Andrew McCutchen the 2009 Major League Rookie of the Year.

Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen was named major league rookie of the year by Baseball America.

Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, left, come to the aide of a fan who was hit by a foul ball down the first baseline in the seventh inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh Friday, Aug.

Here is part one in a seven-part series that will take an in-depth look at how each of the Pirates' Minor League affiliates fared during the 2009 season.

It's time for the NL Rookie of the Year ballot for the Baseball Bloggers Alliance awards.

It's the first Inbox edition of what is set to be an interesting offseason for the Pirates.