PITTSBURGH -- With camera flashes popping, his parents smiling and the news cameras catching each of his ear-to-ear grins on tape, Pirates first-round pick Daniel Moskos took a No. 7 jersey from general manager Dave Littlefield and slipped it over his head. Then came the black and gold cap.

And with that, the city of Pittsburgh was introduced to the newest member of the Pirates organization.

The photo op was a formality on Tuesday afternoon, as the Pirates announced that they had come to terms with this year's overall No. 4 pick, Moskos. But the day was anything but ordinary for Moskos, who enjoyed lunch with Pirates second baseman Freddy Sanchez, took a tour of PNC Park and saw the Pittsburgh skyline for the first time before putting on the Pirates jersey.

"It feels good," Moskos said, of finishing up the signing process. "It's nice to be wearing a Pirates [jersey] and hopefully it won't be very long before I wear a Pirates one again."

After his formal introduction at PNC Park, Moskos was scheduled to catch a flight to Bradenton, Fla., where the 21-year-old left-hander will begin a throwing and conditioning program. Moskos may pitch in a Gulf Coast League game while he is in Bradenton, but will be headed to join the Rookie League State College Spikes as soon as senior director of player development Brian Graham and the Bradenton staff sees that Moskos is ready to join the organization's Minor League system.

And from there, the possibility remains that Moskos may be able to make the jump to Low A Hickory before the end of the season.

"We're open to anything," Littlefield said. "Obviously the season is a little shorter now, so we're not going to rush anything. Some of it will be based on performance, too."

The stint in Bradenton is to make sure that Moskos is still physically conditioned after the month-long lag between the end of his season with Clemson and Tuesday's announcement. That is not to say, however, that he has spent the last month idle. The lefty has been living in his Clemson apartment, frequenting the gym, playing catch with some of his Tigers teammates and throwing a handful of bullpen sessions while waiting out the signing process.

"I couldn't just take some time off," said Moskos, whose collegiate season ended on June 9 when Mississippi State eliminated the Tigers from NCAA Super Regional play. "I knew that it wasn't over yet because I knew I was going to be signing and that I would have to be ready to play."

Moskos began negotiations with the Pirates shortly after the college season ended, but it took the Nationals signing the Draft's sixth-overall pick, Ross Detwiler, on July 6 to expedite the process.

"That kind of gave us a kick that, OK, people are signing for slot money so we better sign for slot money," said Moskos, who is represented by Mark Pieper of SFX Sports. "I knew it was going to take this time period because you kind of want to wait to see who signs and you don't know what exactly the signing bonuses are going to be in terms of slot money."

While the Pirates did not release the terms of the deal or the amount of Moskos' signing bonus, it should be approximately $2.5 million. Signing bonuses this year have been about 10 percent less than they were last year, and Detwiler received a $2.15 million bonus from Washington.

Pieper also said that the deal does not include a guaranteed invitation to Spring Training for Moskos.

"I'm sure Pittsburgh fans were a little worried not knowing when I was going to sign, but it's actually been a very refreshing process," Moskos said. "It was not stressful at all."

After not forecasting what Moskos' role would be in the organization on Draft day, Littlefield said on Tuesday that the organization has him targeted to move up through the system as a reliever.

"We're going to pitch him out of the bullpen," Littlefield said. "We think he's a back of the bullpen pitcher with the weapons that he has. We've got a good left-handed pitcher that has weapons."

Those weapons include a fastball that tops out at 95 mph and a wicked slider, which Moskos called his put-away pitch. It's that two-pitch punch that the left-hander offers that has the organization anticipating Moskos' potential.

Moskos, who was listed as a top 10 prospect by Baseball America prior to the Draft, came out of the bullpen exclusively during his first two seasons with Clemson, before joining the starting rotation this year. Of the 27 appearances the left-hander made for the Tigers during his junior season, 10 were as a starter. Moskos finished with a 3.29 ERA and a team-high 78 strikeouts.

While Moskos said on Draft day that he would always invite an opportunity to join a big-league team as a starter, he isn't about to limit his options now.

"Definitely being a reliever for two years in college, it's a role I could definitely see them welcoming me into," Moskos said. "I'm very aggressive. I'm definitely a competitor, that's probably my best attribute. I go right after hitters."

Moskos' signing marked the 26th player that the Pirates have signed, which included each of their top 10 and 18 of their first 20 selections. It also marked the end of a long road and the beginning of a new journey for the 21-year-old who couldn't erase the grin off his face as he spoke on Tuesday.

"It is a relief," said Moskos, donning his new Pirates hat. "Now I can go out and play."