Twenty of the Pirates' 24 pitchers on the 40-man roster will attend the voluntary minicamp next week in Bradenton, Fla., the notable exceptions being veterans Matt Morris and Damaso Marte.

Relievers Franquelis Osoria and Juan Perez also will not attend, but each recently competed in the Dominican Winter League and will have time off before spring training. Marte, too, is pitching in that league's ongoing playoffs.

None of the pitchers is injured, general manager Neal Huntington confirmed yesterday.

"They have chosen not to attend," he said.

Only a handful of Major League Baseball teams hold formal minicamps, in part because the MLB Players Association is wary of its members being pressured to participate. The Pirates merely extend invitations.

Morris, 33, and Marte, 32, are the team's oldest and most experienced pitchers.

The only pitchers not on the 40-man roster who will participate are minor-league starter Adam Bernero, who missed all of 2007 to elbow surgery, and relief prospect Marino Salas, part of the recent Salomon Torres trade.

The five position players in attendance will be catchers Ronny Paulino, Ryan Doumit and Michel Hernandez, and outfielders Chris Duffy and Kevin Thompson. Duffy is coming off shoulder surgery.

The minicamp, comprised of workouts Tuesday through Friday at newly refurbished Pirate City, will focus almost entirely on the pitchers. Huntington, manager John Russell and the full coaching staff will attend, along with team doctors and training and conditioning staff.

NOTES -- Butler native Matt Clement and the St. Louis Cardinals yesterday signed a one-year contract worth a guaranteed $1.5 million and up to $5.25 million in bonuses, plus a club option for 2009 worth $8.75 million. The Pirates inquired about Clement in early December but never followed up. ... The Chicago White Sox's acquisition of Nick Swisher from Oakland yesterday further dwindles the list of potential trade suitors for Jason Bay. Only the San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers remain on the market for an outfielder in his mold. The Athletics received three prospects -- pitchers Gio Gonzalez and Fautino De Los Santos and outfielder Ryan Sweeney -- for Swisher.