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Huntington update: Tuesday

Huntington update: Tuesday

SAN DIEGO -- Neal Huntington did not confirm the Francisco Liriano deal Tuesday afternoon when he met with Pittsburgh media members. This is custom, as Liriano has not passed his physical. 

“We are cautiously optimistic and we are continuing to work through the process,” he said.

Later, on MLB Network, he was more expansive.

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“I think quite honestly if this comes to fruition, Francisco probably left money on the table to come back to Pittsburgh,” he said. 

Later: “Not only is Francisco staying in Pittsburgh but we’re becoming a place where agents are calling us.”

It sounds as though the Pirates might look to upgrade elsewhere rather than continue to pursue starters once they sign Liriano. “At this point in time, assuming everything follows through and we sign another major league free agent starting pitcher or we acquire another major league starting pitcher, I would think we'll turn our attention to other resources, to other ways to improve the club,” Huntington said. 

***Asked about finding a left-handed reliever after the departure of Justin Wilson, Huntington said the team was looking for relievers who could get both righties and lefties out.

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“If they throw left-handed, it may be a benefit,” Huntington said. “But if they can't get right-handed hitters out for us, they still don't fit for us. Clint talks all the time about place-kickers and we're not really designed to carry a place-kicker, to carry a one-hitter lefty.”

***Huntington is comfortable with Francisco Cervelli and Chris Stewart as their catchers.

***Tony Sanchez was sent home from his winter ball team, Toros del Este, for poor performance. He went 3 for 30 in 10 games. 

“Any time you struggle for a short period of time let alone an extended period of time you run the risk of not being able to stay in winter ball,” Huntington said. “I know Tony got off to a rough start.”

***Right field is Gregory Polanco’s job to keep entering spring training.

Travis [Snider] is going to get a lot of playing time; he's earned that, and he's a good player,” Huntington said.

***Andrew McCutchen will not need any kind of procedure or treatment on the avulsion fracture involving cartilage in the rib in his lower back, Huntington said. 

First Published: March 24, 2016, 5:06 p.m.

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