The Pirates had a productive bench last year with veterans Doug Mientkiewicz and Jason Michaels. Both those players much to the chagrin of the fan base were not retained during the off season. The Pirates added veterans Ramon Vazquez, Eric Hinske and Craig Monroe.
"We took some criticism because people liked the bench we had last year," Russell stated. "But we added Hinske and Vazquez, the thing about last years bench is that we took a lot of players that basically no one else wanted and we gave them an opportunity and they did a great job for us. We've added some players that have a proven track record - that are very solid players and we're very excited about it."
In the early going Vazquez and Hinske have provided a spark off the bench. Monroe has played a limited role. Management has indicated that certain positions on the team are not firm -- those of right fielder Brandon Moss, left fielder Nyjer Morgan and third baseman Andy LaRoche -- and it is very possible or even likely that the bench players could be used for extended spells if needed.
The Pirates made two moves Friday in an attempt to solidify their bench for the near and distant future.
First, as expected, they optioned utilityman Luis Cruz to Class AAA Indianapolis to clear space on the 25-man roster for newly arrived outfielder Delwyn Young.
Then, they traded infielder Andy Phillips off the Indianapolis roster to the Chicago White Sox for Class A reliever Michael Dubee, the primary motive being that Cruz gets as much playing time at as many positions as possible in Indianapolis.
The Pirates strengthened their bench immediately with Young taking the place of the light-hitting Cruz. Young, 26, has a .267 average in 110 major-league games but was a career .303 hitter in the minors, with 105 home runs.
"It gives us an extra bat we could use," Russell said. "No offense to Luis, but he was more of a defensive guy. With Delwyn, we can pinch-hit, double-switch and spot-start him.
"We want to get our bench involved. "I'm going to try to get Monroe and Vazquez in there in the next couple days, too. You hate to see anybody sit for an extended period. And we've said all along that we feel our bench is stronger than last year. We have good, versatile players. They're not just bench players."