Craig Wilson was cut loose yesterday morning by the Atlanta Braves.

Next stop: Pittsburgh?

The Pirates were not among the handful of teams that contacted Steve Hilliard, Wilson's agent, in the hours after the first baseman was given his unconditional release yesterday. Such a move would be premature, anyway, with Wilson unable to make a move until he either clears waivers or is claimed. That will not be known until 1 p.m. Monday.

	MINOR-LEAGUE REPORT Thursday's results INDIANAPOLIS (24-15) lost at Syracuse, 4-2. RHP John Van Benschoten (3-3, 2.47) allowed four runs and seven hits in four innings. He struck out five, walked three, hit a batter and threw a wild pitch. RHP Brian Rogers (1.42) pitched three scoreless innings of relief, allowing one hit. CF Rajai Davis (.291) went 1 for 4 with a walk. ALTOONA (19-17) split a doubleheader with Portland, winning, 2-1, and losing, 15-3. In the first game, RHP Yoslan Herrera (0-3, 5.35) allowed one run and six hits in 5 1/3 innings. In the second, RHP Kip Bouknight (4-1, 3.38) allowed six runs in 3 2/3 innings. For the day, 1B Steve Pearce (.300) drew five walks in seven plate appearances. 3B Neil Walker (.278) went 1 for 6 with an RBI. CF Andrew McCutchen (.183) went 1 for 7 with a triple. LYNCHBURG (15-20) won at Winston-Salem, 5-2. RHP Derek Hankins (4-2, 4.46) allowed two runs in seven innings. 2B Shelby Ford (.232) went 3 for 5 with an RBI. HICKORY (15-22) lost at Augusta, 7-0. RHP Brad Clapp (3-5, 6.64) allowed two runs in five innings. CF Alex Presley (.236) went 2 for 3 with a walk.

"We'll have to see how that goes first," Hilliard said. "After that, if he's not claimed, he's available to anyone, and we're very confident he'll sign with someone very quickly."

Wilson would welcome a return to Pittsburgh. He repeated his willingness to play for the Pirates during Atlanta's visit to PNC Park last weekend, and Hilliard reiterated that.

"He's always loved it there," Hilliard said.

Wilson, 30, was off to a slow start in sporadic duty with Atlanta, batting .172 in 58 at-bats, with a home run and two RBIs. This came after batting .248 as a bench player for the New York Yankees after the trade that sent Shawn Chacon to the Pirates.

In six seasons with the Pirates, Wilson never batted below .262 in a full season, never had an on-base percentage lower than .354 and hit a total of 94 home runs.

If a team claims Wilson off waivers, they would be responsible for picking up the remainder of his one-year, $2 million contract, or roughly $1.5 million.

If he clears waivers, the team that signs him would be obliged to pay the prorated portion of Major League Baseball's minimum salary, $380,000.

The Pirates, desperate for offense and power in particular, have $4 million left to spend in the payroll allotted by ownership.

Atlanta decided to cut Wilson, partly to create more time for his former platoon partner at first base, Scott Thorman, but mostly to create roster space for catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, a standout prospect.

Bench still cold

This much is certain: The Pirates' bench has room for improvement.

The four players who have spent the most time as reserves -- Nate McLouth, Brad Eldred, Jose Castillo and Don Kelly -- are batting a combined .197 with eight RBIs and 35 strikeouts.

The Pirates' pinch-hitters, as a whole, are batting .135 with one extra-base hit.

"No question the bench hasn't done its best yet," McLouth said. "One thing I think you've seen, because we've had pretty much the same starting lineup all season -- which is a good thing -- is that most of our at-bats have been when pinch-hitting or coming in off a double-switch. But that's part of the job, too, and we haven't achieved what we'd like to yet."

Buried treasure

Third baseman Jose Bautista performed running drills on the field for a second consecutive day, under the supervision of the athletic trainers. Manager Jim Tracy said he could return for the three-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks that begins tonight.

Adam LaRoche's .361 spurt the previous 11 games got him moved back up into the cleanup spot for the first time since April 19. "He's swinging the bat extremely well, and this is the lineup the way you would have wanted to see it all season," Tracy said. "We didn't acquire this player to hit sixth or seventh."

Randy Johnson will pitch against the Pirates in the series finale Sunday, the first time he has faced them in Pittsburgh since Aug. 26, 2004, a memorable night at PNC Park in which Jack Wilson and Jason Bay hit back-to-back home runs off him in the seventh inning of a 2-1 victory against Arizona. Johnson spent the past two seasons with the Yankees.