Pittsburgh signed Jeff Suppan to a one-year, $1M contract on Friday. The contract reportedly includes a $500,000 buyout on a $4M option for 2004 and makes provisions for up to $800,000 in innings based incentives.

Suppan has pitched more than 200 innings in each of the past four seasons. His ability to achieve that workload was the primary reason the Pirates were interested in him. The Pirates have concerns about the endurance of all of their other starters, so when Suppan became available at a price they considered within their budget they moved to make him a park of the team. Suppan's 5.32 ERA is not indicative of skills much different from those he's displayed over the past few seasons when he had an ERA in the upper 4's; the Kansas City pen was simply significantly worse at bailing him out.

Whether due to fatigue or something else, Suppan tends to fade in the second half and last season was his worst case to date. I think the Pirates are behaving somewhat frivolously in failing to realize that the young talent they possess is likely capable of matching or exceeded what they can find on the free agent market. However, provided they deal Suppan at the break, avoiding the option and making room for someone else in the rotation, I won't object too heartily to this acquisition. Matt Guerrier will likely benefit from the extra half season at AAA to work on his control.

Pittsburgh settled on a contract with the arbitration-eligible Matt Herges in mid-January. Herges agreed to a one-year, $825,000 contract. I continue to believe as I did at the time ofhis acquisition that the Pirates wasted resources in acquiring a pitcher they didn't need when they traded for Herges. However, they thankfully were able to sign him at a bit of a discount, making him even more attractive as mid-season trade bait.

Bronson Arroyo's chances of making the team out of Spring Training took another hit this week, as the pitcher agreed to a contract and was then designated for assignment to make room for Suppan on the 40-man. Early in the off-season, Arroyo suffered an accident while building a deck, breaking two ribs and sustaining some other damage to his mid-section. Although the incident shouldn't affect his preparedness for Spring Training, it didn't help him gain an edge over the substantial competition.

Through minor league deals, the Pirates have added RHP Rolando Arrojo, RHP Jeff D'Amico, LHP Mike Holtz, RHP Brett Laxton, RHP Pat Mahomes, LHP Dennys Reyes, RHP Julian Tavarez, 3B-R Jose Fernandez, and C-R Yohanny Valera.

While Boston didn't need to retain him given their other starters and desire to add another upper level pitcher to the rotation, Rolando Arrojo has not displayed poor skills over the past few seasons. The 34-year-old will not strikeout an abundance of batters, but he manages better than many control pitchers. Although I don't currently see a rotation spot available for him, he'll be considered for spot starts and may have a chance at a bullpen job at some point. I have to say I'm pleased that Arrojo and Arroyo look unlikely to be spend much time together in the majors this season.

Signing Jeff D'Amico to a minor league deal strikes me as one of the better moves of the off-season. D'Amico displayed very solid skills last season and appeared quite healthy, despite his past injury troubles. Unless he has a miserable Spring Training, the 27-year-old should break camp in the rotation.

Holtz won't deserve a major league job again until he demonstrates that he's once again exercising decent control. His skills were never strong and recently he's reverted to an unacceptable walk rate. If the 30-year-old gets his act together, he could be decent trade bait as a "veteran lefty", but the Pirates have sufficient alternatives that they shouldn't let him near their bullpen.

At this point, I'm picturing Pittsburgh hanging out a sign on Opening Day that says "We Deal Pitchers for Less!", as many teams have failed to take advantage of the depressed market to stash potential injury replacements and the Pirates have an impressive collection of top level AAAA talent. Even if they trade their more prominent acquisitions, they'll still have depth for their own team with pitchers like Laxton stashed at AAA. Laxton compiled a 104:49 K:BB with 182 H and 13 HR allowed in 156.2 IP for 4.84 ERA as a starter with the Royals affiliate at AAA Omaha last season. He struggled in his first exposure to the majors due to insufficient development time, but the 29-year-old now appears ready to contribute.

Despite an impressive performance at AAA Iowa last season, Mahomes has failed to display acceptable command in the majors and does not rank with the other competition for bullpen jobs in Pittsburgh. I don't expect the 32-year-old to spend time of the roster in 2003.

Reyes possesses more upside than Holtz, but the Pirates have more prepared left-handed options, so the 25-year-old should be allowed to work on his control as a reliever in the minors.

Despite his reputation as an established major league pitcher, I do not consider Julian Tavarez's acquisition even as valuable as the addition of Laxton. Only in 2001 did Tavarez display even marginally acceptable skills in the majors, and last season the 29-year-old declined horribly as he contributed to the Marlins' abuse of his arm by failing to report injury problems and expressing a macho attitude about remaining in games regardless of safety concerns. I think the Pirates have merely committed to some sizeable medical expenses with this signing.

Jose Fernandez spent last season playing in Korea. His contact rate could use improvement, but the 28-year-old can take a walk and has considerable power potential. If Aramis Ramirez spends time on the DL in 2003, Fernandez could probably provide the Pirates with a qualified injury replacement, though I'm not sure he'd receive the opportunity unless it coincides with a hot streak at AAA.

Yohanny Valera spent last season in the Tigers' system. Although the 26-year-old has shown a little power potential, he shouldn't obtain a AAAA role until he's established better plate discipline. Additionally with the Pirates catching depth, I wouldn't expect him to receive an opportunity in Pittsburgh in 2003 under most circumstances. Coincidentally, Valera is one of two defendants in a civil suit recently filed in the Dominican Republic following a brawl in which players allegedly attacked a spectator who came onto the field during a Winter League game. David Ortiz, Neifi Perez, and Jose Guillen have all been subpoenaed to testify and may arrive late to Spring Training as a result.