PITTSBURGH (93-7 The FAN) — Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman reports via Twitter that the Pirates are interested in former Cardinals shortstop Rafael Furcal.

Furcal, 34, has been injury prone recently in his career, but when healthy he has produced well. In 2010, Furcal batted .300 with eight home runs and 43 RBIs in 97 games. However, he has played in over 100 games just once since the 2008 season.

Last year, Furcal split time between Los Angeles and St. Louis. With the Dodgers he played 30 games and batted just .197. With the Cardinals he hit .255 in 50 games and had some big at bats during their playoff push.

Furcal made roughly $12 million last season and the combination of his age and injury history may drive that price down.

The Pirates are in need of a shortstop after declining an option on Ronny Cedeno a couple of weeks ago. Cedeno started 128 games for the Pirates.

Chase D’Arnaud is the most experienced option currently on the roster with 48 appearances last season between shortstop and third base.

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