NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- In their first moves of Major League Baseball's Winter Meetings today, the Pirates claimed two players off waivers, infielder Josh Wilson from the Tampa Bay Rays and starter Ty Taubenheim from the Toronto Blue Jays.

To clear space on the 40-man roster, the team designated first baseman/outfielder Brad Eldred and reliever Brian Rogers for assignment. The roster is full at 40, meaning other moves would be necessary if the Pirates are to select a player in the Rule 5 draft Thursday.

Wilson, 26, is a 1999 graduate of Mt. Lebanon High School. He batted .251 with two home runs and 24 RBIs in 90 games with the Rays last season after being claimed off waivers May 10 from the Washington Nationals. He made his major-league debut with the Florida Marlins in 2005.

"As we've looked around the industry, that middle utility guy with the ability to play shortstop is hard to find," general manager Neal Huntington said. "Josh has performed well in the minors with the bat, but not as well last year with Tampa Bay. But we think he's a guy who has a chance to be solid to average defensively, and there's enough of a bat there that he can be a player for us off the bench in the short term. Obviously, in the long term, that allows Brian Bixler to continue to develop in Triple-A."

The Pirates' previous management tried to sign Wilson last year, but the Washington Nationals added him to their 40-man roster.

Huntington acknowledged he still remains in discussions with another free-agent utility infielder. The Pirates are known to have contacted Chris Gomez, formerly of the Cleveland Indians.

Taubenheim, 25, made one start with the Blue Jays in 2007 and allowed five runs in as many innings. He spent most of the season with Class AAA Syracuse, for whom he went 4-7 with a 6.37 ERA in 19 appearances, including 16 starts. He also made five starts with Class AA New Hampshire.

"Our guys felt that Taubenheim gave us another option as a depth starter," Huntington said. "That puts him in that mix with John Van Benschoten, Bryan Bullington and Luis Munoz that, if we need a starter at the major-league level, he can come up. There is some belief, too, that his stuff might play out of the bullpen."

Taubenheim's fastball generally is clocked at 90-92 mph.

Huntington has made five waiver claims since becoming general manager.

"In each case, we feel we've added a player better than the one that came off," he said.

If Eldred or Rogers clears waivers over 10 days, the Pirates can outright them to Class AAA Indianapolis. Eldred had been out of options but, as Huntington confirmed today, he and Van Benschoten each has another one after the Pirates won an appeal to MLB for an extra year because of the time those players lost to injury.

Another player who has missed plenty of time to injury, Sean Burnett, remained out of options and must make the main roster out of spring training next year to stay.

Huntington acknowledged that the Pirates have interest in "one or two" players available in the Rule 5 draft and that he could be willing to clear space to make it happen.

On other fronts, Huntington said trade talks are quiet.

"If you'd asked me two weeks ago, I would have thought we had a chance to make a trade before these meetings," he said.

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.