Bumped, newer stuff below - Charlie

The Post-Gazette:

The Dodgers have not slammed the door on Wilson, but [Dodgers GM] Ned Colletti is exasperated by the Pirates' asking price and has turned his attention -- full and intently, it seems -- to getting Rafael Furcal re-signed. ... Delwyn Young, one of the Los Angeles prospects mentioned in a proposed deal, is out of options and might not make the 25-man roster out of spring, which means he might be had for nothing if a team waits long enough.

Well, good. Delwyn Young (totally different player from the far-more-interesting Delmon Young, and yeah, it's confusing) isn't worth giving up much for anyway. I haven't heard of any concrete trade offers in which the Pirates get a player for Wilson who might be an important part of their future, so there's no need to trade Wilson now. As KPatrick mentioned in the comments of a previous thread, I'm not normally a big proponent of waiting for the perfect deal before trading a middling vet, but in this case the Pirates really don't benefit in any way by trading Wilson (except by shedding salary, which I don't care whether they do or not, since they can afford to keep Wilson and spend a bunch of money on amateur signings). The Pirates don't have a young shortstop who might turn into a productive regular if he got playing time; the position is a complete black hole after Wilson. The Pirates should be demanding here, because Wilson is valuable to them right now. Of couse the most important thing is the long-term future of the team, and so if the Pirates get anyone who can potentially really help--even if they have to reach deep into the minors--they should make the trade. But so far we've heard about nothing but AAAA players and Grade C prospects.

UPDATE: The P-G also reports the Bucs are talking to David Eckstein, which would seem to mean that a trade of either Wilson or Freddy Sanchez is pretty likely. Eckstein is a marginal starter at this point, but he's probably a bit too good for the Pirates to be pursuing him as a bench player.

UPDATE II: The P-G now says the Bucs are in formal negotiations with Eckstein. It looks increasingly likely that either Wilson or Sanchez will be traded, soon or at some point in the offseason.

UPDATE III: The Braves are interested in Paul Maholm or Nate McLouth. There isn't much to say here until there are some specifics, but even after the Javier Vazquez deal, the Braves have the prospects needed to get things done with the Pirates if they want to.