With pitchers and catchers already hard at work, and a number of position players shaking off the rust in Pirate City, I figure now is as good a time as ever to recap Neal Huntington’s off-season.

The Departed:

Cesar Izturis
Josh Phelps
Salomon Torres
Jose Castillo 

There was some outcry over dumping Phelps, and while he did swing a good stick last summer, he really doesn’t fit anywhere with the Pirates. He’s a utility man because, well, there’s nowhere he actually belongs (a la Ryan Doumit but worse), and seeing as the Bucs don’t have a DH spot to plug him in, he was pretty much useless.

Huntington probably got a bad deal on Torres, who should have been worth at least one decent prospect, rather than two marginal at best bullpen types, but we can tell from Huntington’s reluctance to deal other players that he isn’t going to make a habit of undervaluing his own talent — something that worried me when this deal first went down.

The only move that really screams mistake from this off-season is the dumping of Castillo. He’s only 26 years old, still has a ton of potential, and his beef was with the old coaching staff, who are all long-gone. Not too mention I’d much rather have Castillo behind Jack-Flash and Freddy than I would Josh Wilson or Ray Olmedo.

New Arrivals:

Ray Olmedo
Doug Meintkeiwicz
Jared Wright
Casey Fossum
Hector Carrasco
Chris Gomez
Ty Taubenheim
Phil Dumatrait
Kevin Thompson
Josh Wilson
Evan Meek

Obviously there’s no names in that list that make your jaw drop. Gomez, Wilson, Olmedo, and Meintkeiwicz are going to make for an interesting battle. I like the Meintkeiwicz signing more and more every day. If he can prove himself at 2B, 3B, and at the corner OF spots, his value goes through the roof. What if he can get his defense to the point at third where we can start him over Bautista? Definitely not unthinkable, and it’s a good improvement for the team all-around.

I’m also a fan of Gomez, as his splits the last 3-4 years are pretty impressive, and based on those a .280 batting average should be expected, while his defense will be ok, but not great. Too bad only one of him and Doug really get to make the squad.

The pitchers are simply Neal throwing crap against the wall and hoping it can get some outs in innings 6-8. I like the approach a lot more than emptying the bank for Scott Linebrink, and hopefully a couple of those guys stick as decent bullpen options.

Trades…and those that didn’t happen…

The only trade that did go down was the Salomon Torres deal. I expressed some slight disapproval of the deal above, but it certainly didn’t kill the ball-club. Unless Neal acquires a habit of undervaluing his guys, I won’t criticize him too harshly here.

The real stories from this off-season have surrounded the seemingly endless rumors that haven’t come to fruition. We can all agree that we hated the rumors surrounding Bay to the Indians, and Huntington gets a gold star for avoiding that one.

The Nady to San Diego rumors have yet to really evolve into something worth discussing, though there are some pieces there that could work. They obviously would like the OF boost, and they have a handful of young starting pitchers in the minors in Latos, LeBlanc, and Inman that could be fair return and would help boost the system. I’m just speculating, but that’s something I’d like to see. Bet on a deal to at least come close to happening in the next couple of weeks.

I’m amazed at the inactivity surrounding Marte and McLouth this off-season. I half expected them to fly off the shelf. I can guarantee Marte won’t be here in August, though I know expect McLouth to stick around, even if Morgan impresses. McLouth has a future as a corner OF with the Bucs, especially if and when Nady and Bay get moved.Also, the Sanchez extension should get a mention in here as well, though I doubt he’ll play out the whole deal as a Pirate.

Final Report Card:

I’m not upset per-say about this off-season. Maybe bored, but not upset.

Obviously, the lack of moves are a frustrating to all us online rumor rats, but we should be glad to see Huntington sticking to his guns and not under-selling. I still think he should move a guy or two before April, but so long as guys get moved for some talent at the deadline and the team has a good draft (dish out the $$$ Bob), I have no real strong complaints beyond dropping Castillo.

I’ll give the FO a C- on the winter. Nothing exciting, but we’re passing and showing potential.