Pirate Notes...

The season is over, but the wheels keep turnin'...

• Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors has a piece on the upcoming free agency of AJ.
• The injury report: RHP Phil Irwin is back from his ulnar nerve injury and working a few frames in the Arizona Fall League. RHP Jeff Karstens is in the rehab stage of his rotator cuff/labrum surgery. LHP Wandy Rodriguez is expected to ready for camp after being shut down with arthritis/tedinitis/inflammation. C Mike McKenry is due to return from his knee surgery in March. RHP Kyle McPherson's return from TJ surgery is expected to be in July. 
• While on injuries, Jeff Zimmerman of Fangraphs has a "PAIN" table to calculate which pitchers are likely to be pitching hurt. LHP Jeff Locke leads the list, and by a wide margin.
• RHP Jameson Taillon's season has ended. He suffered a minor groin tweak, and the Bucs are shutting him down. And that's probably OK; he worked 150 frames between Altoona, Indy and the Arizona League. The Bucs would have liked to add a couple more innings to his count, but he's sitting at about the same IP total that Gerrit Cole entered the 2013 season with.
• Speaking of Taillon, he, OF Gregory Polanco and RHP Nick Kingham made Baseball America's Top Twenty Prospects list for the AA Eastern League.
• Jim Callas of MLB.com posted that OF Josh Bell is ready to join the Top 100 Prospects list.
• Baseball America liked the Pirates 2013 draft a lot - they named it the top draft class of the year.
• The Pirates announced they've added a ninth minor league affiliate: Bristol, Virginia of the rookie Appalachian League (much akin to the short-season PA-NY leagues).
• Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors has a piece on RHP Josh Johnson, and places the Pirates among a gaggle of clubs that fit his mold if the Blues Jays let him hit the market. 
• The Cleveland Indians signed RHP Matt Capps to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.