UPDATE: Our own Craig Calcaterra reports that Grilli is re-signing with the Pirates, citing a source with knowledge of the situation.
==========
Jason Grilli’s breakout season as a setup man in Pittsburgh made him a very popular free agent target and agent Gary Sheffield (yes, that Gary Sheffield) has said the right-hander is close to signing.
According to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com he’s narrowed the choices down to the Pirates, Cubs, and Blue Jays, with a two-year deal expected wherever Grilli winds up.
Grilli was a marginal big leaguer for a decade or so, but in two years with the Pirates he threw 91 innings with a 2.76 ERA and 127 strikeouts. That works out to 12.5 strikeouts per nine innings, which was the fifth-highest strikeout rate in baseball during that time behind only Craig Kimbrel, Kenley Jansen, Aroldis Chapman, and David Robertson.