Monday 18th November 2002

Pirates weekly hot stove update

The Pirates' 2002 season ended on September 29th, but the organization will continue to make significant moves throughout the fall and winter months.
To help keep Bucs fans abreast of all of the latest news, MLB.com will provide a weekly hot stove update each Monday.

Signings imminent?

While Major League free agent signings get most of the headlines at this time of year, six-year minor league free agents can also be very important for teams looking to improve the depth of their organizations.
"Last year, I think we did a real nice job on the pitching side," said Pirates General Manager, Dave Littlefield.
"This year, we want to do the same on the pitching side. But our goal is to also do a better job of improving the quality of the talent that we bring in position player-wise."
Look for the Pirates to begin signing this year's crop of six-year minor league free agents soon.
"I would anticipate in the next week or so that we will be announcing some people that we have come to terms with," said Littlefield."

Thursday 5th December 2002

Pirates sign eight to minor league contracts

The Pittsburgh Pirates today announced they have agreed to terms with the following players on minor league contracts.
The announcement was made by Brian Graham, the Pirates Director of Player Development.
The players are:-
Joe Caruso (INF)
Blas Cedeno (RHP)
David Doster (INF)
Steve Fitch (RHP)
Aaron Holbert (INF)
Brad King (C)
Todd Ozais (RHP)
Brett Roneberg (INF/OF)

Wednesday 11th December 2002

Eight minor league free agents signed

The Pirates announced last Thursday that they had come to terms with eight six-year minor league free agents -- infielder Joe Caruso, right-handed pitcher Blas Cedeno, infielder David Doster, right-handed pitcher Steve Fitch, infielder Aaron Holbert, catcher Brad King, right-handed pitcher Todd Ozais and infielder/outfielder Brett Roneberg.

While these acquisitions certainly didn't gather the media attention of a Jim Thome or Tom Glavine signing, Littlefield believes that they are very important for the Pirates as they attempt to improve the talent base throughout the organization.

"We just don't feel that we are strong enough at the Triple-A and Double-A levels talent-wise, so this an opportunity to get some guys who could possibly help us," said Littlefield.
"This is an area that we have identified, along with the trade route and the Major League free agents, as an option to upgrade the overall talent of not only the Major League team, but of the organization as a whole.

"This is something that starts in October and we're going to continue to work throughout the winter to keep trying to recruit and entice players who are looking for more opportunity.
We felt that we did very good last year with the signing of Brian Meadows, Salomon Torres and Al Reyes, and we're going to look at every way possible to acquire talent."