McGehee has slimmed down for new team

--3B Casey McGehee has lost nearly 20 pounds, down to 208, from his playing weight with Milwaukee last season. He expressed optimism that the sleeker build will help him improve over a .238 season with the Brewers.

--RHP Juan Cruz's signing to a minor league deal might understate the chance he has to contribute. He had a 3.38 ERA in 56 appearances for Tampa Bay last season, and management was looking for another solid righty. That could be as a precaution against RHP Evan Meek not being ready after he missed most of last season because of an elbow injury.

--LHP Brian Tallet, signed to a minor league deal, was limited to 19 appearances last season with the Cardinals and Blue Jays because of injury and had a 9.45 ERA. He's mostly a matchup lefty, which doesn't go with Clint Hurdle's preference for his lefties to be able to face batters on both sides of the plate.

--RHP Charlie Morton, recovering from hip surgery, has extended his long-tossing to 175 feet. He and the team remain guardedly optimistic he will be ready to open the season. Even if he isn't, the schedule affords the Pirates a chance to skip a fifth starter in early April.

--C Tony Sanchez, the Pirates' first-round draft pick in 2009, broke his jaw for the third time in the last two years, only this time it wasn't broken by a pitch. It came in a bar fight, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, last October during Instructional League. "As with any young player, there are good days and days when we need to make adjustments," GM Neal Huntington said.

BY THE NUMBERS
48 million -- The Pirates' projected Opening Day payroll, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"I've got to use my eyes and my gut to make some decisions. You can't just throw everything into the computer." -- Manager Clint Hurdle, on the Pirates' spring evaluations

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