Bucco Bits

• Keith Law of ESPN reported that the Pirates would at least listen to offers for Andrew McCutchen. The story is behind the ESPN Insider's subscriber wall.
• Bill Brink of the Post Gazette wrote that the FO is kicking the tires of veteran righty Aaron Cook. The question is will Cook be the BP pitcher of 2010-11 or the solid three-four guy of 2005-09? He's another of Clint Hurdle's old charges, which we're sure is helping to get his foot in the door.
• OF Xavier Paul wasn't claimed after being DFA'ed, so he's now a free agent. The Pirates paid lip service to signing him again, but that's unlikely. Because of when he was DFA'ed, he can't ink a deal with the Pirates until mid-May.
• The Bucs have two weeks to decide who to offer arbitration to. There are nine players eligible: Jason Grilli, Joel Hanrahan, Garrett Jones, Jeff Karstens, Evan Meek, Ross Ohlendorf, Chris Resop and Jose Veras. Five are RHP from the pen, so it wouldn't be a surprise if one or two of them were non-tendered. The FO also has the option to offer a contract instead of arb, so we'll see how it ends up.
• Primo Pirate prospect OF Starling Marte missed a month of winter ball in the Domincan League with a tight groin, but the good news is he returned to action today. He plays for Leones del Escogido.
• Bradenton OF Robbie Grossman had a breakout year for Bradenton (.294/13/56 with a .418 OBP and 24 stolen bases). He was interviewed by MiLB.com's Ashley Martin in this Q&A article.
• And on the CBA front: Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com wrote that MLB has shut the door on building up draft pool value by not signing a couple of top ten picks. The league says that if you don't sign someone, that round's slot figure will be subtracted from the pot. He also has a couple more clarifications/factoids to add to the draft process.