Denis Poroy, Associated Press Jeromy Burnitz is available ? for the right price. Click photo for larger image. More Pirates Coverage: Collier: Steinbrenner makes mockery of baseball's rules

Dave Littlefield continues to sift through the free-agency lists for a starting pitcher and a big bat in the outfield or at first base.

There is plenty of the former but little of the latter. Eliminate the power-hitting types way out of the Pirates' spending range -- Carlos Beltran, Magglio Ordonez, Carlos Delgado -- and the rest is mostly a collection of the aging, infirmed and unproductive.

Except one: Jeromy Burnitz.

Burnitz, 35, is coming off a rebound season in which he batted .283 with 37 home runs and 110 RBIs for Colorado. Sure, the air is thin there, an advantage noted by 24 of those home runs coming at Coors Field. But Burnitz's wallet was thinner than in the past, too, his pay having plummeted to $1.25 million after two soft years.

He and the Rockies declined a mutual option for 2005 worth $3 million, making him a free agent. From there, he has shopped himself to several of the major leagues' highest spenders and is asking for two years at $5 million per.

Out of the Pirates' range?

Given how clear management has made its desire not to spend big money, absolutely.

But that range could change.

For the moment, Burnitz is several teams' Plan B. Arizona will not talk to him until it is done trying to pry Shawn Green from Los Angeles. Houston and the Chicago Cubs are thinking about him, too, but not until they first see if they can land Beltran or Ordonez.

The danger for Burnitz, of course, is that he is left standing without a chair.

Which might best explain why Howard Simon, Burnitz's Connecticut-based agent, did not flinch this week when asked if his client could consider the Pirates at some point, even though they have not yet contacted him.

"They're not a contending team right now, and I think they might not have the money for what we want, but we'd listen," Simon said. "What I can tell you is that Jeromy wants to be a starter. So far, all the teams we've talked to want him to start. And I can tell you he would like to be a center fielder."

Burnitz, traditionally a corner outfielder at a bulky 6 feet, 213 pounds, spent 69 games in Coors' spacious center field last summer, registering four assists and three errors.

"He enjoyed that," Simon said. "Anywhere there is an opportunity to play center, whether Pittsburgh or wherever, he would consider it."

The Pirates are wide open in center and are known to like Burnitz, so the fit is not the obstacle. Rather, it is that the team would want his price to drop dramatically and that Littlefield would prefer to get a right-handed bat.

Even so, Littlefield did not rule out going left-handed "if that hitter is out there at the right price" and replied when asked specifically about Burnitz: "Anybody who's a free agent and has been productive, we have interest in. But it's more than just interest, statistics and scouting reports. There's the salary that's attached to it."

Among the right-handed hitters available:

Danny Bautista, who hit .286 with 11 home runs for Arizona last season and made $4 million. Tampa Bay, Boston and Florida are courting him. The Devil Rays have offered $1.75 million.

Brian Jordan, who slumped to .212 with five home runs last season for Texas and had his $4 million option bought out. But he is 37 and seen as a platoon player.

Small ball

The Pirates have $18.34 million -- minus an unknown portion of Matt Lawton's $7.25 million salary that will be paid by Cleveland -- committed to their seven players signed for the coming season. Assuming the five remaining arbitration-eligible players double their combined $5.03 million in salary of a year ago -- they should get less -- and that the other 13 players on the likely 25-man roster are signed at an average of $10,000 above the major-league minimum $316,000, total payroll would be $32.7 million minus Lawton's paid portion. Owner Kevin McClatchy has projected that the payroll will end up close to $40 million.

The minicamp that begins Wednesday in Bradenton, Fla., largely presents a chance for the staff to examine the conditioning of the pitchers reporting. That means that most eyes will be on Kip Wells, who had surgery in October on the middle finger of his pitching hand. Wells is not expected to take the mound, manager Lloyd McClendon said, but will be tested and keep throwing as he has for the past month.

Another injured pitcher, Sean Burnett, who had major elbow surgery in September, could throw for the first time in minicamp. He is not likely to pitch until August.

Final statistics for the four members of the 40-man roster in the winter leagues: Ryan Vogelsong went 2-2 with a 3.94 earned run average in Venezuela, walking 14 in 32 innings. Jose Castillo finished second in that league with a .364 average and had 10 home runs and 38 RBIs in 214 at-bats. Jose Bautista was limited by injury to 13 games in the Dominican Republic and hit .224 with two home runs and five RBIs. Ronny Paulino hit .141 with one home run while catching 25 games in that league.

Think the Pirates might deal Craig Wilson if his price ends up too high? Consider that the team would have to scrap plans for his first bobblehead doll giveaway, scheduled June 4. His is one of four of the popular promotions next season. The rest: Jason Bay, Oliver Perez and a dual Steve Blass/Manny Sanguillen.

Thirty-nine days remain until pitchers and catchers report.