Pirates 'have some interest' in Justin Morneau

The Pirates are at least somewhat interested in Justin Morneau, Bill Brink reports. This doesn't mean any deal is likely, obviously -- the Bucs obviously can't be that interested, or they would have claimed Morneau on waivers. And Brink also notes that the Twins aren't going to trade Morneau anywhere he wouldn't want to go.

Anyway, as I noted the other day, Morneau and Garrett Jones are currently very similar players (which is kind of funny, since Jones spent many years in the Twins organization with Morneau as one of the players ahead of him on the depth chart). Morneau is a small upgrade against righties, but that's it, and it's worth pointing out that Jones hit .274/.317/.516 last year. Also, Jones can at least stand around in the outfield, whereas Morneau has never played anywhere but first base, which means that, if the Bucs dealt for Morneau, they'd have two guys in Morneau and Gaby Sanchez (who does hit job as a lefty-masher perfectly well and isn't going anywhere) who can't play any other positions. That doesn't matter so much once rosters expand, but it is worth keeping in mind for the playoffs.

In other words, Morneau really doesn't address the Pirates' needs all that well. He isn't worth giving up a decent prospect, and I'm sure the Pirates won't. If he wants to come to Pittsburgh and the Twins feel like letting him go for nothing, then that's fine, but if not, I wouldn't worry about it.