BRADENTON, Fla. - Free agent outfielder Raul Mondesi signed a one-year contract with a club option for 2005 after passing his physical Monday with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Now the Pirates hope their latest bargain basement pickup enjoys the kind of season Mondesi's right field predecessor, Reggie Sanders, did last year. Sanders hit 31 homers after all the contending clubs passed on him, but has since signed with St. Louis.

Mondesi, 33, batted .272 with 24 home runs, 71 RBI and 22 stolen bases in 143 games with the New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks in 2003. Pittsburgh tried to deal for Mondesi last year, but the Yankees wouldn't pick up all but $1 million of his contract, as the Pirates wanted.

"I told my agent I want to sign with a National League team," said Mondesi, who hasn't played a full season in the NL since 1999. "The Pirates wanted to sign me and I want to play for them, especially because (Roberto) Clemente played many years for the Pirates."

Mondesi was examined by team doctors Sunday, then completed the rest of his exam Monday. He immediately returned to his native Dominican Republic to pack his belongings, and he plans to rejoin the Pirates Wednesday, the voluntary reporting date for position players.

"The Pirates have a real young team and I have a good chance to help them and have a good year because I'm back in the National League," Mondesi said.

Before Mondesi left, he met briefly with manager Lloyd McClendon.

"I really can't comment on anything in that fashion, but we had a good conversation and he looks to be in extremely good physical shape and a wonderful mental state of mind," McClendon said.

Mondesi had a troublesome 2003 season. His July 29 trade to the Diamondbacks came two days after he briefly walked out on the Yankees and three weeks after he sulked over being benched for a game.

Mondesi was upset at being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning of a July 27 game against the Boston Red Sox. He left the clubhouse before the game was finished and missed the team's charter flight to California for a series against Anaheim. The Yankees later traded him to the Diamondbacks for David Dellucci and two minor leaguers.

Mondesi likely would bat cleanup for the Pirates, who lost Reggie Sanders and Matt Stairs to free agency. Craig Wilson's 18 home runs last year is tops among players currently on the Pirates spring roster. Mondesi has 264 homers in 11 seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, Yankees and Diamondbacks.

"We need some power and would like to have a bat like that in the lineup," Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield said.

NOTES:

Outfielder Jason Bay (right shoulder surgery) has been cleared to start a hitting program. Bay will begin hitting off a tee today and could take regular batting practice next week. ... The second half of pitchers in camp completed a long-distance run around the practice fields that is a little more than a mile in length. Mike Gonzalez finished first with a time of 6 minutes, 22 seconds. Ryan Vogelsong (6:25) and Brian Boehringer (6:45) also finished in less than seven minutes. Veterans Rick Reed and Mark Guthrie were excused from the run. ... The Pirates announced they will televise 120 of their 162 games this season on Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh. The Pirates will be televised 54 times at home and 64 times on the road. All 12 interleague games will be shown as well as two games against the Montreal Expos in San Juan.