"These winter meetings featured big spending on premier players. But rather than devote the Pirates assets to one commodity, general manager Neal Huntington took a diversified approach.

"We could have invested everything in one big blue-chip stock or we could have invested in a portfolio," he said Thursday before the conclusion of the meetings at the Hilton Anatole. "We decided to take the portfolio approach."

The Pirates left the meetings with Erik Bedard, a left-handed starter, and Nate McLouth, who will provide depth in the outfield. They also added infielder Yamaico Navarro, acquired in a trade Wednesday from the Kansas City Royals, and shortstop Gustavo Nunez, whom they selected from the Detroit Tigers organization with the eighth pick of the Rule 5 draft. Top it off with catcher Jose Morales, signed to a minor league contract Wednesday, and the Pirates obtained five players filling different organizational needs."