Pittsburgh Pirates news and notes from day one of the Winter Meetings

The first day of Major League Baseball’s Winter Meetings is winding down – here is a recap of Pittsburgh Pirates news from the day

Major League Baseball’s Winter Meetings started today in Orlando. Each off-season the Winter Meetings are the craziest, busiest, all around most hectic week of the baseball off-season. As day one of the meetings begins to wind down, what news is there to discuss when it comes to the Pittsburgh Pirates?

Well, first off, the Pirates made a minor roster move today. On Monday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Pirates claimed infielder Engelb Vielma off waivers from the Philadelphia Phillies. You can read more about what appears to be nothing more than an organizational filler move here.

This past weekend at Pirate Fest, Pirate reliever Felipe Rivero told reporters he wanted to stay in Pittsburgh awhile. He also said that his agent was set to meet with the Pirates this week to discuss a possible long-term contract. There is no news on the Rivero front yet, however.

General manager Neal Huntington met with reporters today. He told reporters that while the Bucs continue to look for third base help, they are comfortable with their in-house options at the position.

Odds are, this is just GM speak. No general manager in sports is going to say they have anything but confidence in the players on their team. The Pirates still are in dire need of third base help.

Neal Huntington also informed reporters that Steven Brault will be moved to the bullpen. What to do with Brault is something I discussed over the weekend. Ultimately, moving him to the bullpen is the best move for all parties involved and one that should work out well for both Brault and the Bucs.

Finally, there are the rumors surrounding Gerrit Cole. It was reported earlier today that the New York Yankees are interested in the Pirate ace. It was also reported that the Pirates seem unlikely to deal the former number one overall draft pick.

The Texas Rangers also called the Pirates about Cole. Those talks, however, went nowhere according to TR Sullivan of MLB.com.

While the Pirates are certainly willing to listen on Cole, a trade would appear to seem unlikely. Especially with what is undoubtedly a high asking price from general manager Neal Huntington. For example, according to Mike Calendrillo from our sister site Yanks Go Yard, outfielder Clint Frazier and third baseman Miguel Andujar are two players the Pirates would like in Cole trade with the Yankees. Frazier and Andujar are two of the Yankees’ top-five prospects and both have the upside of well above league average players.

Next: Felipe Rivero's fastball/changeup relationship

Stay tuned with Rum Bunter for all of the news and rumors from the world of the Pittsburgh Pirates as the Winter Meetings continue this week.