The Pirates have signed 28-year old lefty swinging outfielder Jeff Salazar to a minor league contract. He played in 90 games for the D-Backs last season and he was 27 for 128 (.211 avg, .675 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 2 homers and 12 RBIs. Salazar has now played in 147 games in his major league career and he is 68 for 275 (.247 avg, .725 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 4 homers, 30 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. This was the usual cheap kind of player that the Pirates like to have on the bench. Don’t expect a whole lot out of Salazar in the 2009 season.

The Pirates have signed 32-year old lefty swinging infielder Ramon Vazquez to a 2-year, $4 million dollar contract. He played in 105 games for the Rangers last season and he was 87 for 300 (.290 avg, .795 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 6 homers and 40 RBIs. Vazquez has now played in 595 games in his major league career and he is 449 for 1,747 (.257 avg, .686 OPS) with 227 runs scored, 21 homers and 160 RBIs. It will be interesting to see how Vazquez fits in because he can handle any infield spot defensively. I have a feeling he will be playing a lot of 3B for the Pirates in 2009.

The Pirates have selected 24-year old lefty starting pitcher Donnie Veal in the Rule 5 Draft. He was the Cubs’ #6 prospect heading into the 2008 season according to Baseball America. Veal pitched in 29 games (all starts) in AA-ball last season and he was 5-10 with a 4.52 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. Veal’s big problem last season was his control as he walked 81 batters in 145.1 innings pitched. If Veal can tame the flame the Pirates might have something here.

35-year old righty swinging catcher Raul Chavez has refused an outright assignment to AAA becoming a free agent. Chavez played in 42 games with the Pirates last season and he is 30 for 116 (.259 avg, .606 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 1 homer and 10 RBIs. He has now played in 212 games in his major league career in which he is 116 for 521 (.223 avg, .552 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 5 homers and 50 RBIs. Chavez has been invited to spring training with the Blue Jays but the Pirates won’t miss him at all in 2009.

The Pirates have signed 27-year old righty pitcher Brian Slocum to a minor league contract. Slocum pitched in 2 games (0 starts) for the Indians last season and he was 0-0 with a 27.00 ERA and a 4.00 WHIP. He has now pitched in 10 games (2 starts) in his major league career and he is 0-0 with a 7.78 ERA and a 2.24 WHIP. It’s getting bad in Pittsburgh when they are starting to sign Cleveland’s rejects.