Ryan Doumit News

Lincoln began the season with the AA Altoona Curve, where he posted a 2.28 ERA but a 1-5 record, and then was promoted to the AAA Indy Indians, where his record was better at 6-2 and his ERA was 4.70. Time to add him to the 40-man roster.

It may not be the biggest priority this offseason, but the Pirates are keeping a keen eye on the catchers who hit the free-agent market.

Pittsburgh not only had a bad major league team, but it also had little talent in the farm system.

Thomas and Karstens aren't huge surprises--Thomas was claimed from the M's only a couple weeks ago, and Karstens was arbitration-eligible--but I'm a surprised by Diaz being cut.

The Pirates this afternoon cut loose starter-reliever Jeff Karstens and officially added hard-throwing reliever Ramon Aguero, outfielder Gorkys Hernandez plus starters Brad Lincoln and Bryan Morris to their 40-man roster, thus protecting those minor leaguers from being exposed for other teams to choose in the Rule 5 draft Dec.

For my Baseball Insider, I spoke with Pirates GM Neal Huntington about two players with New York roots, Lastings Milledge and Jose Tabata .

The Ramones sang "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow".A It's a tale of breaking up because someone had to "pay the price".A And so is the case of Aramis Ramirez and the Pittsburgh Pirates .

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen finished fourth in National League rookie of the year voting behind winner Chris Coghlan of the Marlins.

Today, the Pittsburgh Pirates were rumored to be trying to trade their catcher Ryan Doumit.

When we ran a poll asking what you thought about the J.J. Hardy-for-Carlos Gomez trade, most of you said that you didn't like the deal because Hardy should have brought more in return, or at least a starting pitcher for next season.

First things first: treat this with a grain of salt for now. The fact that the Post-Gazette reported that the Bucs offered Matt Capps for J.J. Hardy but didn't mention that the Pirates and Brewers also discussed a Ryan Doumit -for-Hardy swap makes this report from FOXSports.com seem a bit strange to me.

The World Series may still be fresh in your mind, but MLB GMs are already focusing on next season.

Next season, either Steve Pearce or Jeff Clement could be the Pirates' starting first baseman or at least a power-hitting threat off the bench.

From the cavernous Yankee Stadium, where Game 1 of the World Series was hours away from beginning on Wednesday , I bring you another Inbox edition.

Who is the fourth best catcher in baseball heading into 2010 ?A Is it Ryan Doumit, who was limited to just 75 games in 2009 due to a wrist injury?A What about Miguel Montero, who seemingly came from nowhere to emerge as one of the better hitting catchers in the game?A Leta TMs take a look: Power: Since hitting 10 home runs in 214 at bats in 2007, ...

Posted By buccofans 21 hours, 28 minutes ago in Sports BUCCO Fans.com breaks down the catching situation for the Pittsburgh Pirates, including the 2009 performance of Ryan Doumit, and whether the Pirates should trade Doumit with 2009 first round pick Tony Sanchez off to a hot start in the system.

CINCINNATI ? If the Pirates are going to succeed with home-grown players, they must produce breakthrough seasons at an above-average rate.

Shortly after he was hired as the club's general manager in September 2007, general manager Neal Huntington completed a thorough organizational assessment, after which he came to one concerning conclusion -- the team didn't have nearly enough depth.

Just because the 2009 season has not officially wrapped up does not mean that ita TMs too early to start looking towards 2010.A First up in our early positional rankings are the catchers; so leta TMs get right to it and take a look at the Top 15.

McCutchen, the Pirates ' top draft pick in 2005, played well enough this summer to rank among the top Rookie of the Year candidates.