Just a quick note that the Pirates are moving closer to deals with 2 free agent pitchers.

Ed Price of AOL Fan House is reporting that the Pirates are the closest among 4 teams to signing D.J. Carrasco.  Carrasco was non-tendered in his first year of arbitration eligibility by the White Sox.  In 93.1 IP last season he compiled a 3.76 ERA while posting a rather impressive 2.14 K/BB ratio.  From the numbers, he appears to be a ground ball pitcher (51.3% career GB%) who relies primarily on his fastball and cutter.  If he signs, he would likely fill a role in the 7th or 8th inning as a setup man.

The other news is that the Pirates are much closer to signing free agent closer Octavio Dotel (I touched on him very briefly a few weeks back).  The Post-Gazette is reporting they are one of 5 teams in the mix.  It would appear that if Dotel is signed it would be to close, despite the fact that he hasn’t done that since 2007.  Considering the current options at closer though, Dotel would appear to be as good, if not better, than any of them.