Rob Biertempfel tweets that the Pirates tried to pursue free agent starting pitcher Roy Oswalt, but that went nowhere.
↵↵↵#Pirates inquired about Roy Oswalt and were willing to jump into bidding, but were rebuffed.
↵
We heard on Monday that the Pirates had also made offers to Edwin Jackson, but that they were outbid by the Washington Nationals. Unfortunately, the Pirates are in a situation where they're perceived as losers, so Pittsburgh isn't a desirable destination for free agents. The fact that they're "inquiring" about players like Oswalt and Jackson is, I suppose, better than doing nothing at all, but it doesn't necessarily mean much unless they're willing to step up and do more than make inquiries and vaguely competitive offers. The Pirates' rotation is in a bad way right now, and either Oswalt or Jackson would have helped a bunch, but it appears they won't land either of them.
↵For more on the Pirates, check out Bucs Dugout.