FORT MYERS, Fla. -- There are the superstars in baseball, the guys who can do everything well.

Then there are, simply, baseball players.

Take Mike Edwards, for example.

"He's a baseball player," Pirates manager Jim Tracy said. "He knows how to play the game."

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Guys such as Mike Edwards have to do the most with what they have -- at the most positions they can play -- if they are to earn major-league paychecks on any kind of regular basis.

There are a lot of players like Mike Edwards, 29, who spent almost nine full seasons in the minor leagues before making his major-league debut Sept. 20, 2003. Who played in 865 minor-league games before getting a look inside a big-league clubhouse.

Who toiled incessantly while learning different positions and battling the odds. Who would never be superstars because they lacked a tool or two.

But who didn't quit.

"The only downside on him is he's not real fast," Pirates first-base coach John Shelby said. "But he can swing the bat. He makes good solid contact. He uses the whole field. When you have guys like that who can put the ball in play, you want that bat in the lineup."

Anywhere. At any time.

Edwards did just that for Tracy last season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. A third baseman, first baseman, left fielder and right fielder, Edwards made 88 appearances for the Dodgers. He batted .247 with three home runs and 15 RBIs in 239 at-bats. He was 6 for 16 as a pinch-hitter.

"He's a very serviceable guy," Tracy said. "He understands what his limitations are, and if he's given an opportunity in an environment where you can utilize his strengths and not overly involve him in areas where he has some weakness, then you have a pretty decent player."

Edwards, from Mechanicsburg, Pa., is trying this spring to work for Tracy again this season. Thing is, he pretty much fills the same role as Jose Hernandez, like Edwards a right-handed batter who can play just about any position and has far more big-league experience than Edwards.

The Pirates likely will begin the season with 12 pitchers. That means there will be only four bench players, not counting a backup catcher.

It seems unlikely there would be room for two right-handed batting utility players.

Still, as Tracy frequently points out, spring training is about building depth at positions. If Hernandez, who played for Tracy in Los Angeles in 2004, is the major-league utility player, Edwards can go to Class AAA Indianapolis -- along with Yurendell DeCaster -- and be on call.

That's yet another position with which he's familiar.

Edwards has spent a lot of time in Class AAA over the past five seasons in the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Oakland and Los Angeles organizations.

Originally drafted out of high school by Cleveland in the ninth round in 1995, Edwards gave up his plan to play baseball and football at James Madison University and signed.

That, however, was not a good time to be in the talent-rich Cleveland organization.

"It was very, very tough to crack that major-league roster," Edwards said. "It was almost to the point that with the guys who got drafted in my time if you made [Class AAA] it was a big deal. So you had to stay focused, play hard and, hopefully, maybe another club will see you play and see what you can do."

That finally happened after the 2001 season when Cincinnati signed Edwards as a six-year minor-league free agent. Finally, he could add to his playing resume by learning other positions.

"I really wanted to do that with Cleveland coming up through, but with an American League team that's not really a necessity," Edwards said. "With the DH, there's not a lot of double-switching. They really didn't develop guys in that regard.

"That year with the Reds in the minor leagues, I got to play a number of different positions and I really felt that would be my niche at that point in my career."

Edwards played primarily with Class AA Chattanooga in 2002, hitting .307 with 11 home runs and 60 RBIs in 424 at-bats. That earned him a ticket to Oakland, again as a minor-league free agent.

For Class AAA Sacramento in 2003, Edwards batted .298 with 14 home runs and 95 RBIs. That earned him passage to the big leagues as a September call-up.

On Sept. 24 -- finally -- he got his first big-league hit.

The wait had been worth it.

"I always had that goal of getting there and I took the long route," Edwards said. "But when you have the passion for the game, the love for the game, and continue to do it you can get there.

"I was pretty set on making the major leagues. I was going to stick to it until they pretty much ripped the jersey off my back."

Edwards, signed by the Dodgers after the 2004 season again as a minor-league free agent, now would just like to keep a big-league jersey on his back. He knows, too, that Tracy will have his back.

"I really enjoyed playing for him in Los Angeles, where there's a ton of media on you really scrutinizing a lot of things in your play," Edwards said. "He made me feel comfortable. That was the biggest thing for me."