Offseason landscape favorable to Bucs?

The Pirates' recent trade for second baseman Akinori Iwamura could very well be one of the club's biggest acquisitions this winter. It has already made Iwamura the highest paid player on the team. Or, there could be some bigger moves on the horizon. General manager Neal Huntington is not showing his hand, at least as much as he publically has the past two winters.

Huntington did say that the he would explore the mid-tier free agenct market more agressively this winter than in the past. That's likely the result of two things. One, the Pirates have significant payrolls flexibility after all the mid-year trades the organization made. And two, the market is expected to be affected by the economic slowdown, which might allow the Pirates to afford players they otherwise couldn't.

With a second baseman checked off the wishlist, the Pirates' targets are likely to involve relief help and a corner outfielder. However, with some young outfielders coming through the system and the unpredictablity of relievers, the organization isn't going to spend significant money to fill these holes if the price and the fit isn't right. 

"We're not just going to go sign free agents because we have the money or because we want to make our fans or ourselves feel better," Huntington said. "We're going to sign the guys that we feel can help us and that we believe won't fall into that trap [of being washed up], but also for the right dollars and the right length and right fit.

"It may mean that we get shut out. It may mean that we get one. It may also mean that we get two or three guys that fall into that set of criteria. But the last thing we want to do is just sign free agents to assign money."

-- Jenifer Langosch