Signings & Stuff...

The end of the baseball meetings isn't the end of the wheelin and dealin'...

• The Pirates re-signed Clint Barmes for one year/$2M. Given the dearth of IF depth available, that's a good deal by the Bucs. Remember, the Yankees gave Brendan Ryan a two year/$5M contract with a $5M player option for the third year. Ryan hit .197 in 2013. 
• Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish posted "Source: The Pirates agreed to terms with INF Michael Martinez, 31, on a minor league deal with ST invite." We wouldn't get too worked up; in three years with the Phils, he has yet to finish hitting above the Mendoza line and has a .187 career BA. He's played everywhere but pitcher, catcher and first base and is an organizational depth acquisition..
• Will Carroll of Bleacher Report is "hearing Pirates are more focused on Mitch Moreland than on James Loney right now. Prefer Loney but not at that price." The price that Loney's asking is now three years/$27-30M. The Bucs, Brewers and Rays are all in the market for a 1B, so the price may be a little higher now that the field has dwindled down pretty much to FA Loney and a few trade candidates like Moreland, Ike Davis, Adam Lind and maybe Justin Smoak.
• James Krug of isportsweb of isn't too thrilled about the way the Bucs are going about their business of restocking the roster so far this off season.
• Mike Petriello of Fangraphs writes the secret to Gerrit Cole's success wasn't his heater, but his hook.
• Wei-Chung Wang, the 21 year old Taiwanese LHP the Pirates lost to the Brewers in the Rule 5 draft, is quite the story. He had 2011 TJ surgery (which is why he was an early candidate for the draft), missed 2012 and worked out of the GCL in 2013, but Milwaukee sniffed him out. The Pirates took a fairly sensible risk exposing him. If they protected him on the 40-man now, before he pitched in a full-season pro league, any burp in his career runs the risk of running out his option years. It'll be interesting to see how his situation plays out.
• The FO still has some housekeeping to do. Once the contracts of Clint Barmes and Edison Volquez become official, a couple of spots on the 40-man need to be opened.