 He split the season between the A+ Vero Beach Devil Rays and the AAA Durham Bulls and then became a free agent at the end of the season.He signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates in January 2009 and split the season between the AA Altoona Curve and AAA Indianapolis Indians.In 2010, he was with Altoona for the whole season and hit .305 in 94 games with 16 home runs, his highest total in any of his professional seasons.