His best season came as a rookie with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2002, when he batted .279 with 24 home runs and 84 RBIs. He never has matched the latter two levels.

Gonzalez, 41, a career .283 hitter with 354 home runs over 18 seasons and impeccable leadership credentials, delivered the winning hit for the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. Last season, he batted .261 with eight home runs and 47 RBIs in 341 at-bats as a bench player for the Florida Marlins.

There were indications last night that the Pirates and Hinske were close to agreeing to terms, possibly to the point where an announcement could come this week. But multiple sources confirmed that nothing was complete.

The Pirates and Gonzalez were not nearly as far along. They talked to Gonzalez's agent, Gregg Clifton, late last week but never had full negotiations.

"No question, Luis would welcome an opportunity to come to a team like Pittsburgh, where he can be a mentor to some of their younger players," Clifton said yesterday. "He's in tremendous physical shape, just like he's always been, and he loves the role he had last year with Florida."

Both outfielders are left-handed, so neither would fit the Pirates' stated need for a right-handed power bat, but general manager Neal Huntington recently said he is open to going from either side. Hinske struggles immensely against left-handed pitching, having hit .162 the past three seasons. Gonzalez has batted .272 average, a point better than against right-handers. Hinske made $800,000 last season, Gonzalez $2.5 million.

* * *

NOTES ? Popular utilityman Doug Mientkiewicz, who has not been ruled out by Huntington as a bench addition, still has no contract offer. ... The Pirates were not one of nine teams watching free-agent starter Kris Benson's workout last week.