By Alan Robinson
The Associated Press

PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh Pirates were finalizing a contract Wednesday with outfielder Reggie Sanders, who was unable to land a major league job until now despite hitting 23 homers for the NL champion Giants last season.

Keeping with club policy, the Pirates won't announce the deal until the 35-year-old Sanders passes a physical.

Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield also declined to comment until the announcement is made, probably on today. Sanders' agent, Mike Powers, did not immediately return a phone call.

Once the deal is completed, the Pirates will have ended a lengthy search for a power-hitting outfielder that began shortly after last season ended. They also considered bringing in free agents Ron Gant and Kenny Lofton and reportedly were close to a deal with the Yankees for Raul Mondesi.

Sanders is expected to start in left field, with Brian Giles moving from left to center to complete the Pirates' outfield makeover. They previously signed former Brewers outfielder Matt Stairs to platoon in right field with Craig Wilson.

Sanders would be the third veteran hitter with power acquired by Littlefield during the offseason. The Pirates previously acquired first baseman Randall Simon from Detroit for three minor leaguers.

Littlefield made the moves after the Pirates finished last in the NL in hitting, 15th in runs scored and 14th in homers.

Simon hit .301 and led the Tigers with 82 RBIs last season, while Stairs had 16 homers in 270 at-bats with Milwaukee. He hit 38 homers for Oakland in 1999.

"Offense was obviously an area we needed to address and I feel better about the lineup we'll put on the field this season," Littlefield said.

Sanders is expected to bat sixth in the Pirates' order against right-handed pitchers, behind catcher Jason Kendall, second baseman Pokey Reese, Giles, third baseman Aramis Ramirez and Simon and ahead of Stairs and shortstop Jack Wilson.

The Pirates would be Sanders' fifth team in five seasons. He started for each of the last two NL champions, hitting .250 with 23 homers and 85 RBIs for the Giants last season and .263 with 33 homers and 90 RBIs for the World Series champion Diamondbacks in 2001.

Sanders made $1,750,000 with the Giants, but will likely make only slightly more than half that with Pittsburgh.

Sanders also played for the Braves in 2000 (.232, 11 homers, 37 RBIs) and the Padres in 1999 (.285, 26 homers, 72 RBIs) following eight seasons with the Reds. He is a .266 career hitter with 218 homers and 715 RBIs in 1,307 games.

Sanders hit two homers and drove in six runs in the World Series with the Giants, striking out nine times in 21 at-bats. He hit .304 for Arizona during the 2001 World Series against the Yankees.

With Sanders unable to land a contract since the Giants replaced him and Lofton with Jose Cruz Jr. and Marquis Grissom, his agent also discussed a possible deal with the Chunichi Dragons of Japan's Central League.

If Sanders passes the physical, the Pirates hope to get him into camp immediately. The rest of their position players reported Wednesday at Bradenton, Fla., with non-roster infielder Tomas De La Rosa the only player not on hand. He was having visa problems, but was expected in camp by Friday.