Byung-Hyun Kim Can't Even Make the Pirates

If Pirate fans are looking for signs that things are changing under the new front office in Pittsburgh, they have to look no further than today's announcement that the team is cutting Byung-Hyun Kim. Kim was signed to a major league deal at the beginning of spring training and expected to take a spot in the Pirates' bullpen, but has been awful in his few spring appearances with the Pirates. Accordingly, the Pirates swallowed the $300,000 pill they'd given themselves and sent Kim on his way.

It seems like a small thing, but buying out veteran contracts is something that the Pirates almost NEVER did under Dave Littlefield. If it was going to cost the Pirates money to cut someone, the Bucs simply soldiered on with that player on the roster, whether they belonged there or not.

That being said, the Pirates' bullpen is still going to be terrifying this year. Buying Kim out and trading for Tyler Yates leaves three bullpen spots to be decided from Franquellis Osoria, Evan Meek, Sean Burnett, and Phil Dumatrait. If you've never heard of any of them, it simply means you're not a Pirate fan. If you own Matt Capps in a fantasy league and are counting on him for saves this year, you'd better hope the ball goes straight from the starters, to Damaso Marte, to him, because the rest of this pen probably isn't holding many leads.