I've been tending to some rather important non-baseball things the past couple days and hadn't been able to give blogging as much attention as I'd like, but I'd like to review a pretty juicy trade rumor and an addition to the 40-man roster. Thanks to everyone who's kept things active in the FanPosts and the comment threads.
-P- The Seattle Times reports that the Bucs and Mariners could swap shortstops, with Yuniesky Betancourt coming to Pittsburgh and Jack Wilson heading to Seattle. Other players could be involved. Betancourt is younger but more costly, as he's guaranteed about $10.5 million over the next three years. Betancourt isn't much of a hitter or defender, and at 27 he probably doesn't have a whole lot of headroom. If the Pirates are considering this, they need to get other players as well.
-P- The Pirates continue to raid the Yankees' farm system for pitching depth, grabbing Steven Jackson off waivers and releasing the injured Jimmy Barthmaier. Jackson came to the Yankees along with Ross Ohlendorf in the Randy Johnson deal. He was a starter in the Diamondbacks system, but had a couple of mediocre years out of the 'pen as a Yankee farmhand before suddenly racking up a bunch of strikeouts last year. He isn't young, but he's a decent bet to pitch capably right away, if needed. He's also pitched lots of multi-inning stretches, which could make him helpful in a time like this.