Bucs Sign Dickerson and More Notes...

More tidbits...

• Pittsburgh signed OF'er Chris Dickerson, formerly of the Orioles, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune-Review. The 31-year-old put up a line of .238/.266/.400 with four homers and five stolen bases as a Baltimore backup in 2013.The lefty plays all three OF positions, but will be vying for a spot in the RF rotation.The team later announced that it's a minor league deal with an invite to camp.
• The Bucs are no longer talking to the Mets re: Ike Davis, tweets ESPN's Adam Rubin, but could be drawn back if the internal options fizzle during camp.
• Sheer speculation: The Pirates and Red Sox seem comfortable dealing with one another. That makes us wonder if Mike Carp, the odd man out at first base with Mike Napoli returning, might be available.
• Joe Lemire of Sports Illustrated in his 2014 baseball predictions post says the Pirates won't regress this year. He writes "Pittsburgh's groundball-heavy pitching staff will still play to its favor, and the likely midseason arrivals of its next two top prospects, outfielder Gregory Polanco and righthanded starter Jameson Taillon, will keep the Pirates churning along behind reigning NL MVP Andrew McCutchen."
• Tom Smith at Rumbunter uses Jeanmar Gomez as an example of the Bucco FO strengthening the club without splashy moves.
  
• The Pirates offer to FA 1B James Loney was competitive, but he decided to stay home with the deals being equal, according to Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Trib. 
• Ex Bucs: Joel Hanrahan, recovering from surgery ahead of schedule, will throw for teams during spring training, reports Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors. Tony Plush (Nyjer Morgan) is looking to return to the major leagues after a strong season in Japan, per Jerry Crasnik of ESPN. Also, RHP Jeff Suppan retired. His half season in Pittsburgh was memorable, and the Bucs flipped him at the 2003 deadline to get mainstays 2B Freddy Sanchez and LHP Mike Gonzalez from the Red Sox. 3B Brandon Wood, who last played in the majors with Pittsburgh in 2011, signed a minor league deal with the Padres.