All Things Bubba

I have a friend who is a long-time Pirates fan. (She's a big reason I am a baseball fan today.) I e-mailed her yesterday and asked her if she thought the Bucs would sign Minky, and if they did, was there still room on the roster for Andy Phillips?

She replied that she didn't think there was room on the roster for either Minky or Andy. The fans love Minky, and want him back. She does, too. But the Pirates want 41-year-old Luis Gonzalez instead. She's horrified at the very thought.

Bucs Dugout thinks it's a bad idea, too:

The Pirates already have Jeff Salazar, a better, more versatile defensive outfielder and probably Gonzalez' equal as a hitter, signed to a minor league contract. The Pirates should let him have one of the bench spots. They also have Andy Phillips, a good minor-league hitter who can probably fill the Mientkiewicz infield-corners role perfectly well. Phillips can also fill in at second and left in a pinch, and he's a righty, so he can take some at bats against tough lefties away from Adam LaRoche early in the season.

They think Andy should get a roster spot, and the Bucs should sign an outfielder like Adam Dunn, Bobby Abreu, or Eric Hinske. (The Pirates are rumored to be close to signing Hinske.)

In any case, it sounds like Andy has a legitimate chance to make the Pirates' roster, though it's far from a sure thing.

And in other hot stove news, the Yankees DFA'd Chase Wright in order to make room for Andy Pettitte on the roster. Pretty much what everyone was expecting.