The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed infielder Matt Kata and catcher Mike Rose to minor league contracts. Kata played in 78 games last season for the Pirates and Rangers and he was 35 for 158 (.222 avg) with 21 runs scored, 3 homers and 16 RBIs. He has now played in 238 games in his major league career and he is 156 for 645 (.242 avg, .677 OPS) with 87 runs scored, 12 homers and 58 RBIs. He will have a good chance of making the Pirates roster in 2008. Catcher Mike Rose will face an uphill battle to make the Pirates roster but he will provide decent insurance. Rose has played in 27 games in his major league career and he is 11 for 54 (.204 avg, .542 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed Masumi Kuwata and Micah Bowie to minor league contracts. Kuwata is a 39-year old righty reliever who pitched in 19 games for the Pirates as a rookie last season and he was 0-1 with a 9.43 ERA and a 1.90 WHIP. The Pirates hope he’ll be better next season. Micah Bowie is a lefty who has had a rough career to this point. He worked in 30 games (8 starts) for the Nationals last season and he was 4-3 with a 4.55 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. He has now worked in 78 games (19 starts) in his major league career and he is 8-12 with a 6.01 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP. It will be interesting to see if the Pirates get anything from either of these pitchers in 2008.

The Pirates have signed T.J. Beam to a minor league contract. Beam was a rookie last season for the Yankees and he worked in 20 games for them. He was 2-0 with a 8.50 ERA and a 1.78 WHIP. Beam will have a chance to make the Pirates bullpen next season.

The Pirates have traded Salomon Torres to the Milwaukee Brewers for 26 year old pitcher Marino Salas and 23 year old pitcher Kevin Roberts. Marino Salas appeared in 51 games in AA+AAA ball last season and he was 0-1 with 17 saves, a 2.77 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. Kevin Roberts pitched in 45 games in A-ball last season and he was 6-3 with 4 saves, a 3.44 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. The Pirates did good to get a couple of prospects for a pitcher that didn’t want to be in Pittsburgh anymore.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have decided to release Jose Castillo after picking up Chris Gomez and Josh Wilson ro replace him. Castillo played in 87 games last season for the Pirates and he was 54 for 221 (.244 avg, .605 OPS) with 18 runs scored and 24 RBIs. Castillo finished his Pirates career having played in 465 games in which he was 382 for 1,492 (.256 avg, .677 OPS) with 165 runs scored, 33 homers, 181 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. The 26 year old Castillo should have no problem finding a new job in 2008.