Backroom Buzz
By John E. Sacco

The Pirates' company line has been that pitcher Kris Benson is on schedule and recovering nicely from the shoulder problems that kept him out of the final months of the 2003 season. Benson is scheduled to attend the Pirates' third mini-camp this month in Bradenton, Fla.

Benson seems equally as eager as the Pirates to show the rest of the league he is healthy. It's likely that no matter how he performs in 2004, Benson will be traded at some point between spring training and the middle of June. He is due to earn $6 million this season and would have been dealt last year if not for the shoulder problem.

According to several sources, the Pirates have fielded a number of inquiries about Benson this offseason even with his uncertain health. It speaks volumes that Benson will attend voluntary mini-camp because he did not attend the first two years.

Benson took offense to some members of the organization and news media questioning his competitiveness and desire, some even suggesting he was faking his injury, last year. Benson wants to show the baseball world he can be the big-time pitcher the Pirates wanted and needed him to be when they made him the No. 1 pick in the 1996 draft. Injuries and inconsistency have plagued him throughout, but Benson has the pedigree to overcome.

The Pirates better hope he doesn't become the next Jason Schmidt - traded for financial reasons and then seen flourishing with another club.

Rule 5 Jive

The Pirates were laughed at and chided for having five players picked in the Rule 5 draft last month at the Winter Meetings in New Orleans. While that turn of events disappointed many, there was some good news through it all.

At least hard-throwing right-hander Jonathan Albaldejo wasn't taken.

Albaldejo, 21, won 12 of 17 decisions with one save and a 3.11 ERA in 29 games (20 starts) for Class A Hickory last season. He led the Puerto Rican Winter League in ERA in 2002.No team wants to lose a kid who can throw as hard as he does.

Graham In Demand

Brian Graham's near miss in landing the Cincinnati Reds' managerial job can only help him when the next opening occurs.

Graham, the Pirates' director of player development, has played an enormous role in building the Pirates' farm system over the past three years.

A number of folks close to the team felt if General Manager Dave Littlefield would have made a managerial change in 2003, Graham would have been the guy he turned to.

Since Manager Lloyd McClendon is signed through 2004 with the Pirate's holding an option for 2005, he seems fine for now. With Graham's name now being out there as a prime managerial candidate, and Littlefield's fondness and respect for Graham being unquestioned, it might make the GM pull the trigger a bit faster than normal.

While things can change, it seems that it will be much sooner than later that Graham becomes a major league manager.

What Position?

Jose Castillo, just a year ago considered the Pirates' best position minor-league prospect, had been playing third base and center field for the Caracas Leones of the Venezuela Winter League as of mid-December.

After advancing through the organization as a shortstop, Castillo played the majority of his games at second base for Class AA Altoona in 2003. The switch came shortly after Pokey Reese suffered a season-ending injury to his hand.

This off-season with Caracas, Castillo has found himself at third, a black hole in the Pirates' organization. More recently - and perhaps most interestingly - he has been seeing time in center field.

It looks like the Pirates are trying to get Castillo in a position where he can most quickly advance to Pittsburgh.

John E. Sacco has covered the Pirates and major league baseball for PSR since October 1998. He previously covered the Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and is a former member of the Baseball Writers of America Association, Pittsburgh Chapter.