Pirates rumors: Pittsburgh listening on Joel Hanrahan

The Pittsburgh Pirates are listening to offers from teams that are interested in acquiring closer Joel Hanrahan, reports Buster Olney of ESPN:

The Pirates continue to listen to teams interested in Joel Hanrahan, who could be fit for a number of teams. The Pirates told teams early in the offseason that they would be willing to trade the closer.

Olney notes that the Pirates told teams earlier this offseason that they’d be willing to trade Hanrahan.

This sentiment may have grown recently when the club signed veteran late-inning arm Jason Grilli. While the right-hander is currently slotted as the team’s setup man, the Pirates could view him as a closing option in case they decide to move Hanrahan.

The Pirates acquired Hanrahan from the Washington Nationals in June of 2009 along with outfielder Lastings Milledge in exchange for left-hander Sean Burnett and outfielder Nyjer Morgan.

Hanrahan was not initially Pittsburgh’s closer, but he took over the role in 2011. He’s since been named to a pair of All-Star games while maintaining an ERA of 2.24 with 9.0 strikeouts and 3.6 walks per nine innings and 76 saves.

Over six seasons at the major league level Hanrahan, 31, has posted an ERA of 3.74.