Barmes spent last season with the Houston Astros, hitting .244 with 12 home runs and 39 RBI in 123 games. Pirates general manager Neil Huntington said the main thing they liked in Barmes was his defense.”As we look at the attributes Clint brings to the table, it’s an above-average defensive player, it’s positive intanglibles,” said Huntington. “At a position that’s defense first for us, we thought it was a great fit … an above average defensive shortstop who will bring quality experience and reliability to the club on the playing field as well as a positive veteran presence in the clubhouse. … Clint is a very steady, a very reliable, solid-to-plus defender. He’s been one of the best in baseball over the last couple of years.”

The Pirates decided not to exercise a $3 million option on last year’s shortstop, Ronny Cedeno. They liked free-agent shortstops Jose Reyes and jimmy Rollins better than Barmes, but realized they didn’t have nearly enough money to throw at either of them to make them even consider coming to Pittsburgh.