Pirates still have plenty of needs to fill

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Pittsburgh Pirates filled one need at baseball’s Winter Meetings, which ended Thursday, but still aren’t close to having their roster finished for 2016.
The Pirates are still seeking a left-handed hitting first baseman to platoon with right-handed hitting Michael Morse. They also want to bolster their bullpen after filling out the starting rotation by acquiring left-hander Jon Niese from the New York Mets on Wednesday in a trade for second baseman Neil Walker.
The pickings are slim for left-handed hitting first baseman. The Chicago White Sox offered to pay $8 million of Adam LaRoche’s $13-million salary in a potential trade but the Pirates had no interest.
The 36-year-old LaRoche, who played for the Pirates from 2007-08, hit just .207 with 12 home runs and 44 RBIs in 127 games last season.
Much as they did in looking for starting pitcher before landing Niese, the Pirates are casting a wide net for bullpen help. Among the free agents they have interest in are left-handers Tony Sipp and Matt Thornton and right-hander Jonathan Broxton.
The Pirates are down a lefty reliever after Antonio Bastardo became a free agent and like Sipp, who was 3-4 with a 1.99 ERA in 60 games for the Houston Astros. However, the 32-year-old Sipp wants a three-year contract and the Pirates would prefer not to give a deal that long to a reliever.
That is why Thornton, 39, might be a realistic option, even though he is also coming off a strong season. He was 2-1 with a 2.18 ERA in 60 games for the Washington Nationals last season.
Broxton, 31, was a combined 4-5 with a 4.62 ERA in 66 games with the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals last season but had 63 strikeouts in 60 1/3 innings. One drawback is that the two-time All-Star has a 12.67 career ERA at PNC Park, allowing 23 earned runs in 16 1/3 innings.
Meanwhile, the Pirates continue to talk to teams about possibly trading closer Mark Melancon, who led the major leagues with 51 saves last season. Melancon is eligible for free agency at the end of next season and will likely have a salary of at least $10 million in 2016 after going through the arbitration process this winter.
Pirates manager Clint Hurdle stopped short of saying set-up reliever Tony Watson would become the closer if Melancon is dealt but gave the left-handed a strong recommendation.
Watson has a 2.46 career ERA over five seasons and 333 games, including marks of 1.63 in 2014 and 1.91 in 2015.
“I believe the weaponry that he has is going to play in any inning,” Hurdle said. “I believe that he’s shown and proven to himself that he can get the best hitters in the game out, and he’s done that. The track record speaks for itself. So I believe and have complete confidence that he would be a guy that we would look to give the ball to first in case we didn’t have a Mark Melancon closing for us.”
The Pirates lost one potential bullpen option Thursday when right-hander Deolis Guerra was selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the Rule 5 Draft. He must remain on the Angels’ major league roster throughout next season or be offered back to the Pirates for $25,000 if he clears waivers.
Guerra, 26, made his major league debut with the Pirates last season and was 2-0 with a 6.48 ERA in 10 games.