Pokey Reese appears to have found a team with which to start Spring Training. The middle infielder who bounced from Cincinnati to Colorado to Boston before being non-tendered this off-season has signed with Pittsburgh.

Though no-one appears to be reporting exact figures on the contract, it has been widely presumed that the two-year deal is worth somewhere upwards of $5 million with an option for a third year at around $10M. Considering his untouchable status during the Ken Griffey, Jr. negotiations and Reese's comfort level in turning down $21M for four years with the Reds a year ago, he is a strong contender for this year's Jody Reed award.

Given Jack Wilson's performance after being rushed to the majors last season, I think Pittsburgh would benefit tremendously from returning him to AAA for at least a half season while Reese covered shortstop. While the possibility of releasing Pat Meares still exists, he is under contract for another two years. Returning Wilson to AAA for a few months would not only provide him with the opportunity to relocate some plate discipline, but would also give Warren Morris a chance to re-establish himself and possibly his trade value. If Morris fails after a couple of months in the starting lineup, Pittsburgh can always start Abraham Nunez, Pat Meares, or even Rob Mackowiak or Mike Benjamin until Wilson learns to walk to first base.

Unfortunately the Pirates have been very clear about their plans to use Reese as their second baseman, with Pokey making several comments regarding his enthusiasm regarding playing with Jack [Wilson]. Assuming that they start him at 2B, which admittedly is the position where he feels the most comfortable and has won two Gold Gloves, the next question relates to where he will hit in the batting order.

At the press conference announcing Reese's signing, when discussing the phone call he received from manager Lloyd McClendon, Reese said, "he talked to me and he said, the main thing he said . . . he saw a lot of things that I was doing wrong at the plate and he could help me with that." Reese seemed eager to work on his offense, which he acknowledged was not his strong suit; however there are only so many new tricks a 29-year-old can learn. Aside from 1999, Reese has never shown much in the way of offensive skills and even then his OBP never broke .330, so any discussion of Pittsburgh using him as a leadoff hitter should be immediately quashed. A healthy Adrian Brown should make a much better leadoff hitter, and although I think he's a much better fit out of the #2 slot, Jason Kendall would also be an acceptable leadoff man. Reese should be allowed to maximize his limited offensive skills at the bottom of the order.

At this price, Reese appears to be a quality acquisition and should improve the Pirate team. However, Pittsburgh needs to remember that there is a wrong way to use a Reese.

In other news, free agent James Baldwin signed a one-year, $1.25 million contract with the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday. With performance bonuses, he could reportedly earn close to $3M in 2002. The contract also includes a $4 million option for 2003.

Last year in his first season back following shoulder surgery in October of 2000, Baldwin put together one of the better years in his career, with increased improvement in the second half when he was theoretically more fully recovered. His main problem in the past has been in allowing an overabundance of home runs. He has a career home run rate of 1.3/9 IP, so Safeco Field alone should alleviate some of his troubles. Pitching for the Mariners, Baldwin should build on his progress from the second half of last season and could have a very good year.

Seattle needed an innings' eater to pitch out of the #3 hole in their rotation and take some slack off of their younger pitchers. Gil Meche will likely not be ready to return from shoulder surgery until late in the season. Prospect Ryan Anderson is in the same boat, as he is also recovering from surgery to repair a torn labrum. Jaime Moyer is already 39, so his retirement could come at any time in the next few years. Picking up Baldwin's option next year provides them with a transitional pitcher while the youngsters become acclimated to the major leagues. As long as Baldwin can remain healthy, there should be no reason for the Mariners to lament losing out on Ismael Valdes.

On Tuesday, Ricky Ledee signed a one-year, $750,000 contract with the Phillies. Ledee is a fairly good fit with Philadelphia at this price. He will be an acceptable fourth outfielder and gives them additional options if they can work out a trade of Doug Glanville. Considering the hype surrounding him when the Yankees first drafted him, Ledee has really fallen a long way. He actually has comparable career OB and SLG percentages to Glanville, at a significantly better salary. The Phillies should really to take advantage of this opportunity to cut payroll in the hopes of saving up money to re-sign Rolen or even Robert Person.