Notes: Hot Stove Chat; Cole, Will, Mitch & the Pups; Meadows & J-Low; Piratefest; Ol' Bucs in the News

And this weekend *ta da*...

• @MaxWildstein of Yankee's Insider (Gotham Sports Network) says the Bucs are tire-kicking, along with several others, RHP Sonny Gray, whose splits make him an interesting risk. We wouldn't hold our breaths; early indications are that he'll fetch a respectable return while the FO is bargain hunting this winter.
• Speaking of winter dealing, we're hoping the Bucs pick up a competent fourth outfielder; we're not fans of bouncing Fraze all over the lot. A proven shortstop wouldn't hurt, nor would some pitching depth. It'll be interesting to see if Jung Ho Kang can rebound to become Red Beard's platoon playmate. Without Freeser, Jose Osuna looks like Plan B if JHK flops as of today's roster. Of course, ponying up for a glue guy like Marwin Gonzalez would help plug the dike after missing out on Aledmys Diaz.

Is Tucker ready to break out? (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

• Arizona Fall League big boys: SS Cole Tucker boosted his stock, coming in third in AFL BA, hitting .370 while his .442 OBP was fourth in Arizona. Cole also took home the Fall League Stenson Sportsmanship Award; he's a good guy besides a good player. Also showing strong was Tuck's Altoona & Fall-Star teammate 1B Will Craig, who tied for the league lead in homers with six, finished fourth in RBI with 18 and batted .304. He also had a solid contact rate, whiffing just 18 times in 95 PA (19%). So there are your top-of-the-order, middle-of-the-order prospects; we'll see if they can keep on keepin' on at Indy this coming season.
• MLB.com takes a look at each team's prime suspect for 2019 Rookie of the Year. For Pittsburgh, they like RHP Mitch Keller.
• John Dreker of Pirates Prospects has a recap of BA's look at the Bucs' latest draft class (BA is behind a paywall; link included with John's story if you're a subscriber).
• John Denzler of Roto Baller takes a look at ex-Bucco OFs Austin Meadows & Jordan Luplow, with maybe a little different take than local fans usually hear.
• Piratefest will be late again this year. It's scheduled for January 26th at PNC Park.
• The Red Sox have re-signed World Series hero Steve Pearce to a one-year/$6.25M deal.
• The Reds have reportedly hired JR House as third base/catching coach, per Mark Sheldon of MLB.com., after serving as a minor league manager with the Diamondbacks. JR, from Nitro, WV, was a one-time hot prospect of the Bucs who got into a handful of games, went to WVU briefly as a QB, and then returned to baseball and played a bit for Houston and Baltimore from 2006-08.