{"id":9058,"date":"2011-12-07T14:15:53","date_gmt":"2011-12-07T19:15:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ovathletics.com\/home\/?p=9058"},"modified":"2011-12-07T14:53:03","modified_gmt":"2011-12-07T19:53:03","slug":"day-three-of-winter-meetings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ovathletics.com\/home\/day-three-of-winter-meetings\/","title":{"rendered":"Day three of winter meetings"},"content":{"rendered":"

The final day of the Winter Meetings held in the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas, is in action today. The Pirates didn\u2018t officially make any signings on Tuesday, however, there were several reports late Tuesday night that the club was close to deals with three players. Outfielder Nate McLouth\u2018s deal is pending a physical and is reported to be announced today. There were also reports that the Bucs are close to signing veteran infielder Wilson Betemit and catcher Jose Morales. You can read all the reports from Day two here.<\/a><\/p>\n

First basemen Derrek Lee has until midnight to either accept or reject arbitration from the Pirates. Lee is expected to decline arbitration, but the club is still seriously perusing him.<\/p>\n

Also, Thursday at 10 am is the Rule 5 draft. The Pirates have until the end of Wednesday to clear a spot on the roster if they want to use their pick in the draft. The roster is currently at 40, and the Bucs will pick eighth in the draft. For a complete list of all the eligible players you can read here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Be sure to check back to this page daily, as I\u2019ll continue to post on rumors on the Pirates front. Also, check the main page as well, I\u2019ll post any signings or moves the Pirates do make.<\/p>\n

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