More Coverage: Pirates Q&A with Dejan Kovacevic

The Pirates operated without an advance scout for three seasons, but that will change this year when an old closer fills the opening.

The team yesterday announced the hiring of Kent Tekulve, the franchise leader in saves, as its first advance scout since 2002. He will travel to 150-160 games to study upcoming opponents and file reports to manager Jim Tracy, usually working five days ahead of the cycle to see the starting pitchers the Pirates expect to face.

"I'm really looking forward to it," Tekulve said from his home in the South Hills. "One of the things you miss as a player, particularly as a closer, is being able to affect the outcome of a game. I used to have the ball in my hand. Hopefully, over the course of the summer, I can pick up on something and pass it along to Jim and the coaches, who can pass it along to the players and maybe steal a game here or there."

The Pirates did not employ anyone in such a role the past three years, general manager Dave Littlefield explained yesterday, because the task of analyzing future opponents was performed through a combination of scouting agencies, statistical services and video analysis.

That method drew private grumblings late last season from a few coaches and players, who complained they were not as prepared as other teams. In September, one coach showed the Post-Gazette a scouting report on one of the Chicago Cubs' position players that left blank spots next to categories such as "hitting weaknesses" and "defensive weaknesses."

Other teams, though it is not known how many, perform their advance scouting just as the Pirates did the past three years. Some do it differently, having scouts permanently stationed in one city to take notes on all teams that pass through there, as the St. Louis Cardinals did with Jim Leyland at PNC Park for years. And some take the route the Pirates have chosen, where one scout does it all.

Tracy, who was known to rely heavily on advance scouting in his five years in Los Angeles, pushed for the latter, and Littlefield agreed.

"There is a wide range of ways to handle this responsibility, and a variety of clubs do different things," Littlefield said. "This is the way Jim would like it, and I'm all for it."

Tracy also has a long-standing relationship with Tekulve and his family, dating to their early years in southwestern Ohio.

Until this move, Tekulve had no formal baseball ties to the Pirates since recording 158 saves in 1974-85 and, most famously, getting the final out of the 1979 World Series. He worked one year in the team's community relations office in 1990. After that, he spent seven years as a broadcaster for the Philadelphia Phillies and two years as director of baseball operations for the Washington Wild Things of the Frontier League.

Littlefield contacted Tekulve about the job last week, and Tekulve soon signed a one-year contract. He will begin his duties March 1 in Bradenton, Fla., helping the staff as an instructor as he has the past two years. On March 20, he will begin scouting the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds, the Pirates' first two opponents.

"I've wanted to be part of the organization since the day I retired, and it just hadn't worked out," Tekulve said. "I'm glad it finally has."

Notes

The Pirates yesterday released right-handed reliever Joe Roa, a non-roster invitee. He missed most of last season due to shoulder surgery on his throwing arm. Roa reported to minicamp last month 40 pounds lighter than his previous playing weight and declared his arm healthy. ... There will be 22 non-roster invitees, in addition to the members of the 40-man roster, in the major-league camp. ... Yurendell DeCaster, who could break onto the Pirates' roster as a utility infielder, was named Baseball America's Winter Player of the Year. DeCaster, 26, batted .325 with 17 home runs and 47 RBIs in 209 at-bats in the Venezuelan League. ... Tracy's staff and Littlefield's staff will have their first of two meetings in advance of spring training this morning in Bradenton. ... Pitchers and catchers report tomorrow. Among those already in the fold are pitchers Oliver Perez, Zach Duke, Mike Gonzalez and Ryan Vogelsong; catchers Ryan Doumit and Humberto Cota; and outfielders Chris Duffy and Nate McLouth.