PIRATES' CARAVAN GM's strategy is to free payroll to add new talent

Dave Littlefield believes he can field a competitive team without a huge payroll.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- When there's no increase in payroll for improvements, Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield has found that addition by subtraction may be his best move.
Littlefield, who was promoted last July after the Bucs fired Cam Bonifay, put his theory to work when he traded starting pitcher Todd Ritchie, the team's most-winning pitcher in 2001, to the Chicago White Sox.
In return for Ritchie (11-15), the salary-strapped Bucs, who lost 100 games in 2001, received three young pitchers: Kip Wells (10-11), Sean Lowe (9-4) and Josh Fogg (0-0).
Speaking at the Pirates' caravan stop Thursday at the Butler Institute of American Art, Littlefield said trading Ritchie also freed up enough payroll to enable the Bucs to sign free-agent reliever Mike Williams, the team's closer until he was traded to the Houston Astros last July.
Even though the Pirates set an attendance record when 2.4 million fans went to PNC Park, Littlefield's biggest challenge this off-season has been a budget that hasn't grown.
Other models: Still, he says he doesn't believe that huge payrolls are the answer to fielding competitive teams.
"I see other [similar-sized] clubs doing well, particularly Oakland, the White Sox, Philadelphia and Minnesota. I say to our people that these are the models we should be looking at and emulating.
"We're in a little bit of a hole right now -- we lost 100 games last year and we had some [key] injuries, so we have some work to do."
Healthy returns by outfielders Adrian Brown (knee), Derek Bell (hamstring) and Armando Rios (leg), pitcher Kris Benson (elbow), catcher Jason Kendall (thumb) and infielder Pat Meares (ankle) are another factor that could help the team.
After missing all of the 2001 season, Benson is expected to available to pitch on June 1, but Littlefield expects he won't make a full recovery until the 2003 season.
"We have to be cautious with his comeback," he said of the team's 1996 No. 1 draft pick.
Second base was a minefield for the Pirates last year.
Littlefield admitted that "there's no doubt we didn't get much performance out of second base in 2001."
Eyeing talent: While Meares, Warren Morris, Abraham Nunez and Rob Mackowiak will compete in spring training, Littlefield said he has his eye on free agents and candidates from other teams.
"The problem we've faced is that most teams aren't interested [in trading for] our players," Littlefield said.
Although outfielder Brian Giles, the Pirates' most popular the past three years, is rumored to be on the trading block, Littlefield expects Giles to start in left field when the season opens April 1 in Cincinnati.
Littlefield also said he expects Craig Wilson, who contributed a club-record seven pinch-hit home runs in 2001, to get more at-bats. Primarily a catcher, Littlefield said Wilson will see time at first base and right field.
"He hit 13 home runs last year in a limited amount of at-bats," Littlefield said. "For a team that's looking to score more runs, we've got to find out what this guy has got."
williams@vindy.com