Notes: Camp Now In Full Swing

And now they're all in Bradenton...

• It was a full boat at camp; no visa or personal issues to warrant a late call. In a sign of future movement, not only was Jose Osuna at third base, but Daniel Nava was at first with Austin Meadows in left. Osuna is on his maiden cruise at the hot corner after being introduced to the spot in the Winter league while Nava and Meadows have some limited work at their new-ish spots.
• Sheesh - Joe Musgrove missed his bullpen w/right shoulder discomfort; he's being evaluated. Musgrove pooh-poohed the soreness, saying his missed session was just precautionary, so we shall see.

J-Hay is all about the wins (photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

• J-Hay stood by his off season comments, reiterating that if the Pirates aren't in win-now mode, he wants out.
• Elias Diaz expressed relief for his mother's rescue - she's thankfully OK after the ordeal - and says his goal is to get her and other family members out of Venezuela. Not a surprise; a recent paper by the Brookings Institute says that the troubled nation may end up with more refugees than Syria.
• Tony Watson has enlisted in the Bucco Bay brigade, joining Cutch, Mark the Shark, Gorkys Hernandez, Alen Hanson, Chase d'Arnaud & Hunter Strickland (he was claimed from Altoona after coming over in the Adam LaRoche trade) in San Francisco. It's a two-year deal with an option; reportedly the guaranteed money is $9M, but with bonuses and an option pick up, he could take home $21M over three years.
• Joaquin Benoit has signed a one-year/$1M MLB contract with the Nats, pending his physical.

Joaquin Benoit - life after the Bucs (photo: Pittsburgh Pirates)

• Rajai Davis signed an NRI deal with the Indians. If you remember, his 2007 trade was the one that finally scuttled Dave Littlefield's GM run when Raj was sent to the Bay for Matty Morris. Davis, btw, is working on his 13th MLB campaign; Mo was cut after 16 starts as a Pirate to end his big league stay.
• Alex Presley signed with the O's; it was an NRI deal.
• Baseball America's Joe Sheehan compares Milwaukee and Pittsburgh baseball and came to the conclusion that ownership does make a difference.
• The Bucs have returned to their free tee Friday promotions; they handed out the shirts on Saturday last year.
• Pace of game news: MLB will limit the number of mound visits in a game (six per game; pitchers being yanked don't count) and reduce the time required for inning breaks and pitching changes. There will be no pitch clock or between-batters times. But the league will have their stopwatch on them; they said they'd give the players a chance to self-police those items before deciding if clocks were needed.