John Perrotto of the Beaver County Allegheny Times reports that the Pirates are close to signing Japanese pitcher Masumi Kuwata. Kuwata could join the starting rotation. It was previously thought that the Red Sox would snag him on a minor league deal.
He also reports that potential for a multi-player deal between the Bucs and Braves still exists, with Mike Gonzalez, Humberto Cota, Jose Castillo, Nate McLouth, Kyle Davies, and Adam LaRoche involved.
The Nats are getting demanding for Ryan Church, causing the Pirates to back off.
