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Pirates GM Neal Huntington and his cohorts have felt finding a trade for Neil Walker may not happen until after the New Year but one way or another he is as good as gone and will be moved before spring training.

With some dominos starting to fall a trade could come much sooner as in this week as [hide], suitors are emerging for Walker on the trade front with the Winter Meetings coming to an end.

The Cubs signing of Ben Zobrist has the New York Mets kicking the tires on Walker. The LA times reports Walker is among several trade targets for the Angels. The Nationals are also interested in Walker after missing out on Zobrist.

The Baltimore Orioles remain interested in Walker with the Pirates high on Orioles 1B prospect Christian Walker.

Walker, 24, hit .257/.324/.423 with 18 home runs and 74 RBIs in Triple-A.

The Pirates have also done extensive homework on pitching prospects in the Orioles system over the last year, dating back to the Travis Snider trade. But to this point there has been no movement towards a deal and the Pirates are focused on others.[/hide]