Pat Meares' playing days ended at the start of the 2002 season, and his term with the Pirates officially ended yesterday when he filed for free agency.

	Former Pirates infielder Pat Meares has filed for free agency. (Peter Diana, Post-Gazette)

In addition, the Pirates announced that former Dodgers pitcher Bill Singer, a special assistant to general manager Dave Littlefield, has left to take a job as a special assignment scout with the Mets. Rene Gayo, a scout with the Indians, has been hired as the team's director of Latin American scouting.

Meares, who originally signed as a free agent before the 2000 season and then was given a four-year, $15 million contract extension by Cam Bonifay, had spent the past two seasons on the disabled list with a damaged left hand. He opened the 2002 season on the disabled list and has not played since.

As of yesterday, he has been removed from the 60-day disabled list and dropped from the Pirates' 40-man roster.

The Pirates were able to recoup most of his salary from the past two seasons after their insurance carrier agreed that he was a disabled player. Meares left the team in May 2002 and did not attend spring training as part of an agreement with the club.

With the Pirates, Meares batted .238 with 17 home runs and 79 RBIs in 240 games.

Singer became one of Littlefield's top assistants in January of 2002.

"We're sorry to see him leave, but it sounds like a good opportunity for him," Littlefield said.

Singer spent 14 years in the major leagues as a pitcher and was a two-time 20-game winner and two-time All-Star. He pitched a no-hitter with the Dodgers in 1970, and in 1969, he was credited with recording the first official save in major-league history. Singer also threw the first pitch in the history of the Toronto Blue Jays franchise.

Gayo, 41, spent the past four seasons as director of international scouting for the Indians. He played one season professionally with the Reds as a catcher and was a part-time scout with the Pirates from 1989-92.

The responsibility for scouting Latin American players had belonged to scouting director Ed Creech. But Littlefield had been searching for a director for some time, believing that the amateur draft and Latin America are the two top areas to acquire major-league talent.