The Pirates sound determined to add a right-handed starter.

Even though Jeff Weaver, their most recent target, officially went to the Seattle Mariners yesterday.

And even though the well of free agents is nearly dry.

"We still feel confident there will be something that we'd like to obtain in helping us get competition for the fifth spot, some more depth and insurance," general manager Dave Littlefield said yesterday.

That view -- that the new acquisition would compete with Shawn Chacon for the final opening in the rotation -- might reflect that the Pirates now have no choice but to shift their focus to pitchers far less prominent than Weaver.

And that might point, once again, to Tony Armas Jr.

He is the only other free agent with whom the Pirates are known to be communicating at this stage, and there was some industry speculation yesterday that a deal might be at hand. But neither the team nor Armas' agent, Diego Bentz, could confirm that.

Armas, 28, was 9-12 with a 5.03 ERA in 30 starts for the Washington Nationals last season and made $2.1 million.

Weaver, a postseason star for the St. Louis Cardinals in October, agreed to terms last night with Seattle on a one-year contract for $8,325,000, same salary as last season, plus up to $1 million in performance bonuses for innings and starts.

The Pirates and Cardinals were players in the Weaver bidding until two days ago, when the Mariners stepped to the forefront.

Weaver, 30, was 8-14 with a 5.76 ERA last season.

More bats

Littlefield had been inquiring about bench help, too, but that effort might have been completed Tuesday with the signing of free-agent outfielder Luis Matos.

"We won 67 games last year, so you're always looking," Littlefield said. "But as we look at the positions we've tried to address ... one thing we wanted was a right-handed hitting outfielder who could play all three spots. Matos can do that. He had a good year in '05 and not '06, but sometimes guys bounce back."

Matos, 28, batted .206 last season for Baltimore and Washington, a huge drop from .280 the previous year with the Orioles.

Wilson criticizes Castillo

Shortstop Jack Wilson minced no words in describing why the Pirates are challenging Jose Castillo to win back his job at second base this spring.

He told FSN Pittsburgh's Stan Savran in a televised interview last night that, unless Castillo improves his work ethic, he would prefer Freddy Sanchez next to him at second.

"I want whoever's going to make this a winning team," Wilson said. "Right now, Freddy is my second baseman, in my mind. He's the guy I can trust to go 100 percent and get the job done. Castillo's got to show me something. You're going to see it in spring training. If he's slimmed down and ready to work, he's going to have a good year. But, if it's the other way around, we're going to have some problems."

Castillo, whose official weight was 219 pounds on a 6-foot-1 frame, batted a career-low .253 last season and finished in a 4-for-44 tailspin. The Pirates have informed him he must beat out Jose Bautista to continue playing everyday. If Bautista wins, he will play third and Sanchez will slide to second.

LaRoche under lights

First baseman Adam LaRoche allowed to feeling "24 hours of disappointment" upon hearing of the trade that sent him from the Atlanta Braves to the Pirates. But there was no trace of that yesterday, as he continued to express how pleased he was with the public reception to his arrival.

"It's been terrific," he said. "And I wouldn't have it any other way."

LaRoche was asked if he might feel burdened by the palpable high hopes.

"We'll find out," he replied. "It takes a lot to get me bothered, to get me worked up about stuff like that. I'm not going to change. No matter what happens outside the game, I'm going to go out and have fun and try to help these guys win."

Why just one year?

The Pirates own LaRoche's rights the next three years through arbitration, but they have decided to limit talks on his current contract to one year, Littlefield explained, because management wants to learn more about him first-hand.

"As with any player, as we're confident of how they'll perform in the future, we'll entertain a multiyear contract. We've shown that with other players," Littlefield said.

Buried treasure

The Pirates' new alternate jerseys, unveiled at the opening of PirateFest, are sleeveless and have red as the dominant color, with black and gold trim. They will be worn for home games on Sundays and holidays. The franchise colors were red and blue until 1948, and red was reintroduced as a trim color in 1997. The red-billed caps introduced in that latter year will be worn with the alternate jerseys.

Littlefield said outfielder Jody Gerut, still recovering from knee surgery seven months ago, should be ready for spring training: "Every indication from the doctors is that will be the case."

The Pirates have invited 64 players to the major-league portion of spring training.