More Coverage: Pirates Q&A with Dejan Kovacevic

The Pirates' ongoing pursuit of Masumi Kuwata probably deserves something more than a tiny-type footnote in franchise lore, even if it ends up fruitless.

Sure, he is a 38-year-old starter whose most recent respectable season came in 2002.

And yes, the high-spending Boston Red Sox are the other team trying to sign him.

Still, this pursuit represents the Pirates' first serious foray into the realm of Japanese baseball. And, to hear general manager Dave Littlefield tell it, the team's interest was not generated on a whim, nor will it dissipate soon.

He said that the focus of his scouts in the Far East shifted emphasis about 18 months ago from South Korea to Japan, the goal being a closer assessment of which players from that nation's two top-tier leagues might be worth contract offers in the future.

And, in an attempt to "push along the process," Littlefield traveled to Japan shortly after this past season.

"We've spent a lot more time in the past year and a half there, to get a better read on who are the top players and to get a feel for who might be interested in coming," he said. "There certainly are some fine players coming over from there, and we definitely see there as being potential for players to be the right fit."

The Pirates are, of course, very much behind this curve. They have had the occasional player from the Far East deep in the minor-league system, but never one close to Pittsburgh.

Beginning with Hideo Nomo's big-splash debut in 1995, Japanese players have made increasing -- albeit modest -- gains in numbers in Major League Baseball. Last season, there were 10 who appeared in at least one game, and they included the illustrious likes of Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui.

The respectability factor has risen, too. A survey by mlb.com showed that there has been at least one Japanese player in each of the past five World Series: Tsyoshi Shinjo (San Francisco Giants, 2002), Matsui (New York Yankees, 2003), Tadahito Iguchi (Chicago White Sox, 2005), and So Taguchi twice (St. Louis Cardinals, 2004, 2006).

Prices for Japan's top talent generally has been prohibitive, largely because of the system that requires a team to pay millions for the rights to negotiate a contract with a player who is not a free agent in that country. And the Red Sox vaulted that bar through the stratosphere by paying $51.1 million to talk with Daisuke Matsuzaka.

But low-spenders are finding players, too. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays paid $4.55 million to talk to third baseman Akinori Iwamura, then committed another $7.7 million in salary over three years.

Buried treasure

The New York Times is reporting today that the Yankees, Pirates and Braves are discussing a three-team trade -- the third New York outlet to do so -- but officials with the Pirates and Atlanta will not confirm any such thing. The framework of the deal described in the Times -- Mike Gonzalez to the Yankees, Adam LaRoche to the Pirates and Melky Cabrera to the Braves -- looks plenty flawed from the Atlanta perspective.

There is, however, a sentiment within the Pirates' offices that LaRoche can be had in a more conventional trade, though Gonzalez would not be enough. Or that Cabrera can be had one-up from the Yankees for Gonzalez.

Discussions between the Pirates and starter Jeff Suppan's representatives have diminished in recent days.

The Pirates have made contact with another free-agent starter, Joel Pineiro, one of his representatives said, but they are not yet considered a serious bidder. Pineiro, 28, has had three consecutive losing seasons and is coming off an 8-13 performance in which he lost his spot in the Seattle Mariners' rotation.

Ryan Doumit finished with a .292 average in 35 games for Mazatlan of the Mexican Pacific League. He had six home runs and 16 RBIs, plus a .390 on-base percentage that was aided greatly by 20 walks. Perhaps most intriguing: He spent the final 11 games in right field.

Research by Clay Davenport of Baseball Prospectus showed that the Pirates had the second-highest average age in their minor-league system as of July 1, 2006. Only the Baltimore Orioles were older. That reflects poorly on the depth of recent drafts, as well as the long-standing failure to infuse Latin American talent.

There is another -- though lesser -- explanation for the above: The same survey showed that the Pirates' major-league roster was the third-youngest. Only the Florida Marlins and Devil Rays were younger.

Starter Bryan Bullington has felt no discomfort in his surgically repaired right shoulder since just before the All-Star break, and he plans to be ready for January minicamp. "No setbacks at all," he said. "Now, it's just a matter of pitching."

Sixty days until pitchers and catchers report.