BRADENTON, Fla. -- It was jarring not so much that Jose Castillo, the Pirates' second baseman the past three years, was taking grounders yesterday at third base.

But, rather, that he was doing the drill on a field surrounded by minor-leaguers, this while major-league infielders Jack Wilson, Freddy Sanchez and Adam LaRoche did the same drill at the same time on an adjacent field.

Was a message being sent?

If Wilson's recent public criticisms of Castillo's work ethic were one way to get Castillo's attention, then this conspicuous arrangement of events yesterday, early in the team's first full-squad workout at Pirate City, might well have been management's way of doing likewise.

Or not.

Asked if anything should be read into any aspect of the infield setups, manager Jim Tracy replied flatly, "Nothing."

He was more emphatic when asked if Castillo is being converted full time to third base.

"We want to look at all kinds of possibilities this spring, and we're going to be proactive in looking at them early on," Tracy said. "We know Castillo can play second. We know Sanchez can play third. We know Jose Bautista can play pretty much anywhere. We just want to see what we have."

Castillo and Bautista are dueling for the lone vacancy among starting position players. Management had said in the weeks leading up to spring training that, if Castillo won, he would stay put, as would Sanchez at third. If Bautista won, he would take third and shift Sanchez to second.

Yesterday, Sanchez played second, Bautista third.

Castillo, Sanchez and Wilson said they have not been informed of any position switch being set. As Castillo put it, management simply wants to see him play "some" third base.

The Pirates had discussed the possibility of Castillo playing third during last season, largely because they were dismayed by the extra weight he was carrying and how that affected his range at second. But Castillo has reported to this camp 20 pounds lighter than at the end of last season.

Castillo said he had "no problem" with the move. In his professional career, he has played second, third and shortstop, and he continues to play the outfield annually in winter ball.