Jenifer Longosch of MLB.com

This afternoon I had the privilege to talk to Jenifer Longosch, she covers the Pittsburgh Pirates for MLB.com.


Baseball-Rumors: The Pirates were known to have interest in Padres' catcher Michael Barrett. Is there still interest in him and have they talked to the Padres about his availability?

Jenifer Longosch: The Pirates do not have interest in him at this point. They wanted to add Barrett as a 3rd catcher to allow them to move Doumit to left field. They are still looking to add a 3rd catcher, but Barrett won't be that guy.

The Pirates have no catching depth in their minor leagues, so that's really hurting them right now.


Baseball-Rumors: The Pirates also showed interest in Octavio Dotel and Shawn Chacon, where are those talks with those 2 players?

Jenifer Longosch: They're not talking with Dotel, but they are having ongoing talks with Chacon. Problem is, Chacon wants a multi-year deal but the Pirates aren't willing to give him that. Knowing that, I doubt Chacon is with this team in 2008.


Baseball-Rumors: There were a lot of trade talks surrounding Xavier Nady. Is there interest in him from other teams or do you expect him to be with the Pirates in 2008?

Jenifer Longosch: They'll still entertain offers for him, but the Pirates are asking WAY too much for him at this point, which is probably why a deal hasn't been done. San Diego had talked to them about Nady, but that's no longer going to happen.


Baseball-Rumors: In the deal with San Diego, who were the Pirates asking in return?

Jenifer Longosch: From what I remember, the Pirates wanted Chase Headley and a bullpen guy in exchange for Nady and probably McLouth.

Headley is as close to untouchable as they come in the Padres system, so that was dead pretty quickly.


Baseball-Rumors: Adam LaRoche really struggled out of the gate last season, was it a mental issue or was there an injury concern?

Jenifer Longosch: It was a mental thing with LaRoche, he admitted as much towards the middle of the season saying it really put a lot of pressure on him. When Adam signed with Pittsburgh, management was telling fans that he was going to be the savior of the team and putting that kind of pressure weighed pretty heavily on him.

LaRoche has always been a slow starter, even in his days with Atlanta, he's not the kind of player that can carry a team.

As far as an injury concern, he did have some irritation in his left knee during the season. They did look at the option of surgery this offseason but have decided against it.


Baseball-Rumors: Nate McClouth and Nyjer Morgan will both compete for the CF job during Spring Training. Are the Pirates leaning towards one or the other?

Jenifer Longosch: I wouldn't say they're leaning towards either player, they'll see how both guys do in Spring Training then decide who will be the starter. I know when Jim Tracy was here, he favored Morgan.


Baseball-Rumors: Why are the Pirates trying so hard to deal Jason Bay?

Jenifer Longosch: At this point, I'm not really sure. Maybe they think they won't be able to sign him long term. I know they want to rebuild their farm system, start fresh.


Baseball-Rumors: The trade talks between the Pirates and Indians that included Bay, at what point did those talks break down?

Jenifer Longosch: The deal broke down at the Winter Meetings. The Indians say the deal was never close while the Pirates say the deal was close but that the Indians pulled out, so I'm not sure what to believe.


Baseball-Rumors: The Pirates tried to deal Matt Morris at the trade deadline last season, are they still open to trading him?

Jenifer Longosch: They would still like to deal Morris, but noone wants to pickup what's left on his contract (1-year $9.5M w/ $9M club option or $1M buyout).

I think you'll see Morris with the Pirates until the trading deadline comes back around. At that point, I think the Pirates will be willing to cover some of his remaining salary to make the deal.


Baseball-Rumors: If there was 1 prospect that Pirate fans should look forward to, who is that player and what do you like about him?

Jenifer Longosch: The one I would look forward to is Andrew McCutchen. He's a 21-year-old center fielder. He's got power, speed, he's defensively sound and is a 5-tool player.

I don't think you'll see him with the team in 2008, unless he's called up when rosters expand in September, otherwise I expect to see him to start the 2009 season.


Writer's Note: If you haven't seen the writeup on McCutchen, it's pretty impressive. Not only is he a rising star in baseball, but he was ranked among the top 200 football players in the state of Florida...AS A SOPHOMORE!

He was ranked 3rd best 5-tool talent among high school players prior to the 2005 draft.