Unsurprisingly, New Year's Eve was a slow news day, so I'll use today's column to continue constructing my All Free Agent team. Today we'll be assembling our pitching staff.

As long as he has truly recovered, Pedro Astacio's partially torn labrum may make him one of the best buys of the off-season. He's at least a two on most teams in baseball, and he's an ace for a club with a weaker staff. Surface statistics distorted by an extended stay in Colorado have kept his underlying skills from receiving the attention they deserve. Some team with a youth movement in their pitching staff should sign him to take pressure off their young guys, eat innings, and head the rotation for a couple of years, though I'm not certain I want to suggest specifics. Clubs that should still be able to spend some money and who probably remain in the market for pitching depth include Baltimore, Philadelphia, the White Sox, and Arizona, provided the reports of David Wells to the Yankees are accurate.

Rick Helling is the subject of some buzz in a number of places. Popular opinion has him landing in Seattle, though Philadelphia, Minnesota, and Boston are all reported to have interest. He can likely give any team 200 league average innings, a valuable commodity for any strong yet young top of the rotation.

Terry Adams is also still available. He's spent most of his career as a reliever, but after LA gave him a brief shot at a starting job, Adams has decided that he wants to play for a team that will allow him to start. He was heavily rumored to both Boston and Texas earlier in the off-season, but talk has died down a bit after the recent moves by those teams, though Texas at least should still sign another pitcher. Seattle is again a possibility, but they will likely go with someone a bit more established.

Blister King Ismael Valdes has yet to sign with a new team. If Seattle decides that they can't afford any of the more expensive pitchers left on the market, Valdes would probably be their first choice because of the payroll increase they are expected to see after Bret Boone and David Bell complete the arbitration process. Other than his blister problems, Valdes has been relatively healthy for the last few years, and he would provide the club with an innings' eater near the bottom of the rotation.

James Baldwin might be headed to the New York Mets. Reportedly the team could decide to sign Baldwin instead of further pursuing a trade to re-acquire Rick Reed. He would be another righty, but he lacks the skills of Reed. I'm not sure who should sign Baldwin, as I'm always hesitant to suggest any team take on an older, injury-prone pitcher. When he was with the White Sox, Tim and I strongly held the opinion that the team should trade him while he was still attractive to other organizations and before he hurt himself.

Jeff Shaw is probably the best "closer" on the relief market. However, at this point it seems that he might be leaning towards taking an early curtain call with the cash he's already accumulated. He wants to stay in the National League and would prefer to pitch for a team near his Ohio home. Baltimore has expressed interest, but obviously they don't really fit into either of those categories.

He was evidently engaged in serious negotiations with the Pirates, but talks broke down before Christmas, and Shaw's agent's comments indicate that they are not optimistic that they will resume. Shaw was also very interested in playing for the Reds, but he was unhappy with the money that they offered in November.

The reliever still has a few good years left in his arm, and if I was in his shoes, I'd have a hard time walking. Seriously, I think I would consider agreeing to a deal with a lot of deferred money in order to be able to stay in the game for a couple more years. He should already have more than enough to live in comfort now, and with deferred money, he'll have a steady income for several years. However, I don't remember the last time a player followed the career path I thought would be most beneficial to him. He would fit well on both the Pirates and the Reds.

Tim thinks very highly of Josias Manzanillo. His numbers suggest that he should receive a shot as a closer; however we have readers who have seen him pitch and strongly disagree with that assessment. He should at least be a very good setup man for some team. Manzanillo declined the Pirates offer of arbitration, but the two parties still have until January 8th to negotiate. I think that Pittsburgh should work hard to get something done before next week.

Shigetoshi Hasegawa recently arrived on the free agent market after he was non-tendered by the Anahiem Angels. Although he has had a few brief stints as closer brought about by injuries, Hasegawa is really just an above-average setup man. Whatever team signs him will likely have to overpay, because he does have the potential to close. Both New York teams and Texas have already signed all of the expensive relievers that I expect them to acquire this off-season, so Baltimore seems like the number one team still looking for relief help that also has a large wad of cash burning a hole in their pocket.

Both Todd Jones and Mike Williams have probably seen the last of their closing days, but they can still contribute to pens for several more seasons. Baltimore might be interested in one or both of them, even though there are a few rumors circulating about both players. Detroit has expressed some interest in bringing Todd Jones back, albeit in a setup role. There were also rumors that the Rockies might try to sign Jones to replace Dan Miceli. Of the four teams that have been specifically rumored to have interest in Williams, Pittsburgh appears to have the greatest need for the pitcher, so a return visit appears somewhat likely. The Rangers have already done a lot of work on their pen, and the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox seem to have more pitchers already in place than the Pirates do at this point.

Mike Holtz is probably the best lefty reliever still on the market and would be a decent sign for any team still looking to add a southpaw to their pen.

I know I've skipped over a few pitchers who will likely draw significant interest from a number of teams, but I've tried to cover a good cross section of the market. Unless things heat up quickly in the next few days, you can probably expect at least one more of these, probably with a combination of pitchers and position players not previously covered.