The Pittsburgh Pirates have seven potential free agents heading into this winter to make decisions on. Here is a look at who I see staying and leaving among this bunch:

Derrek Lee: 36-year old righty swinging 1B Derrek Lee played in 28 games for the Pirates last year and he was 34 for 101 (.337 avg, .982 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 7 homers and 18 RBIs. Lee played in 113 games overall for the Pirates & Orioles last year and he was 116 of 435 (.267 avg, .771 OPS) with 55 runs scored, 19 homers, 59 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. PREDICTION: LEAVING

Ryan Doumit: 30-year old switch-hitting catcher Ryan Doumit played in 77 games for the Pirates last year and he was 66 for 218 (.303 avg, .830 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 8 homers and 30 RBIs. The Pirates hold a $7.25 million dollar club option on Doumit for 2012. PREDICTION: LEAVING

Chris Snyder: 30-year old righty swinging catcher Chris Snyder played in 34 games for the Pirates last year and he was 26 for 96 (.271 avg, .772 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 3 homers and 17 RBIs. The Pirates have a club option for 2012 on Snyder valued at $6.75 million bucks with a $750,000 buyout. PREDICTION: LEAVING

Ronny Cedeno: 28-year old righty swinging shortstop Ronny Cedeno played in 128 games for the Pirates last year and he was 103 for 413 (.249 avg, .636 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 2 homers, 32 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Pirates have a club option worth $3 million bucks on Cedeno for the 2012 season with a $200,000 buyout. PREDICTION: LEAVING

Ryan Ludwick: 33-year old righty swinging LF/RF Ryan Ludwick played in 38 games for the Pirates last year and he was 26 for 112 (.232 avg, .671 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 2 homers and 11 RBI. He played in 139 games overall for the Pirates and Padres in 2011 and he was 116 for 490 (.237 avg, .674 OPS) with 56 runs scored, 13 homers, 75 RBIs and 1 stolen base. PREDICTION: LEAVING

Paul Maholm: 29-year old lefty starting pitcher Paul Maholm pitched in 26 games (all starts) for the Pirates in 2011 and he was 6-14 with a 3.66 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. The Pirates have a $9.75 million dollar club option on Maholm with a $750,000 buyout. The Pirates are trying to trade Maholm before a decision has to be made on his option, because they aren’t picking it up. PREDICTION: LEAVING

Aaron Heilman: 32-year old righty reliever Aaron Heilman pitched in 7 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the Pirates last year and he was 2-0 with 1 save, a 0.00 ERA and a 0.69 WHIP. He also pitched in 32 games (0 starts) for the Diamondbacks last year and he was 4-1 with a 6.88 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP. PREDICTION: STAYING ON A MINOR LEAGUE DEAL

27-year old righty starting pitcher Charlie Morton is going to be out of action for the next 6 months after having surgery this past Monday to repair a torn labrum in his left hip. This is a bad break for Morton as he was solid for the Pirates in 2011. Morton pitched in 29 games (all starts) for the Pirates last year and he was 10-10 with a 3.83 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. He has now pitched in 64 games (all starts) in his first three years with the Pirates and he is 17-31 with a 4.88 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP.

The Pittsburgh Pirates were close enough on July 31st to make deals for 1B Derrek Lee and outfielder Ryan Ludwick. Both of those players missed a big chunk of the last two months due to injury, and that’s when the Pirates’ season went down the commode. The Pirates finished in 4th place in the N.L. Central with a 72-90 record, which had them 24 games behind the Brewers. Here is the things that stood out about the Pirates to me in 2011:

TEAM MVP & BEST PITCHER: 30-year old righty Joel Hanrahan won the closer’s job in spring training and the rest is history. He pitched in 70 games (0 starts) for the Pirates in 2011 and he was 1-4 with 40 saves, a 1.83 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. He only gave up 56 hits and 16 walks, while whiffing 61 batters in 68 2/3 innings. A lot of the Pirates’ wins were close ones and that is what made Hanrahan so valuable to them.

PLEASANT SURPRISE: 29-year old righty Jeff Karstens came out of nowhere for the Pirates in 2011. He pitched in 30 games (26 starts) for the Pirates in 2011 and he was 9-9 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Karstens was very aggressive in the strike zone as he only walked 33 batters in 162 1/3 innings and that was a big reason for his success.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: This isn’t even close. The Pirates were depending on 24-year old lefty swinging 3B Pedro Alvarez to provide them with a nice power stick in the middle of the batting order. That didn’t happen. Alvarez played in 74 games for the Pirates in 2011 and he was 45 for 235 (.191 avg, .561 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 4 homers, 19 RBIs and 1 stolen base as he whiffed a stunning 80 times!