Spring training is five weeks away.

Pittsburgh Pirates pitchers and catchers will begin undergoing physical examinations Feb. 10 at Pirate City.

Baseball front offices come back from their de facto holiday break Monday, and things should heat back up on the transaction front.

Of course, there hasn’t been much warmth on the Pirates’ hot stove this winter. Extenuating circumstances have helped to cause that.

Owner Bob Nutting took the unconventional step of waiting until almost a month after the end of the season to fire general manager Neal Huntington. New GM Ben Cherington was not hired until Nov. 18.

Cherington had to hire a manager and assistant GM and put a coaching staff in place at the major league level. Thus, he hasn’t had much time to work on a roster that is very similar to how it looked at the end of last season when the Pirates finished 69-93 and in last place in the National League Central.

Even though signing free agent catcher Luke Maile has been the only addition of note in the nascent Cherington era, the Pirates still want to add depth behind the plate. They have just two catchers on the 40-man roster — Maile and Jacob Stallings — and no minor leaguers of note at the position.

Much of the catching free agent market has been picked over except for Robinson Chirinos. The 35-year-old hit .238/.347/.443 with 17 home runs in 114 games for the Houston Astros last season while making $5.75 million.

However, Chirinos is not considered a strong defender. He had three defensive runs saved in 2019 and threw out 21% of runners attempting to steal, well below the major league average of 27%.

Two veterans who could be intriguing options are Jonathan Lucroy and Russell Martin. Both are on the downside of their careers, but they are respected veterans who work well with pitchers and are considered good clubhouse influences.

Conversely, it does not appear the Pirates are close to offloading either of their two players most desired by other teams.

While the New York Mets were once considered the favorites to land center fielder Starling Marte, those talks have cooled considerably.

It appears the most likely landing spots for Marte could be the Arizona Diamondbacks or San Diego Padres.

The Diamondbacks prefer All-Star Ketel Marte play second base rather than center field. The Padres, mandated to win this upcoming season by ownership, would like to upgrade over Manuel Margot in center field.

The possibility also exists the Pirates could begin the season with Marte in center field. They again could to look to deal him at the July 31 trade deadline as he is still under club contractual control for two more seasons.

The Pirates don’t seem willing to trade first baseman Josh Bell unless they are overwhelmed by an offer. There is no urgency to move Bell as he is not eligible for free agency until after the 2022 season.

Furthermore, few teams are seeking to upgrade at first base, though the Miami Marlins and Toronto Blue Jays have shown at least cursory interest in the switch-hitter.

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