Pirates general manager Ben Cherington says he is looking to add more players after acquiring All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe, outfielder James Mangum, and reliever Mason Montgomery over the weekend in a three-team trade that cost the Pirates only starting pitcher Mike Burrows.
Cherington is looking to add a bat and an arm, preferably a bat with some power and an arm with some experience, to the Bucs. They have been linked to two Japanese stars, but third baseman Munetaka Murakami agreed yesterday to sign with the White Sox, leaving the Pirates in pursuit of 29-year-old slugger Kazuma Okamoto.
Cherington has traded two starting pitchers, Burrows and Johan Oviedo, this offseason and he has suggested that Mitch Keller is staying put, and the group of other potential starters in the system are all preparing to be starters, including right-handers Braxton Ashcraft, Bubba Chandler, Thomas Harrington and Carmen Mlodzinski and lefty Hunter Barco.
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