The Pittsburgh Pirates have decided to designate Josh Sharpless, Shane Youman and Josh Phelps for assignment. Phelps was the biggest surprise of this bunch as he hit well for the Pirates last season. Phelps played in 58 games for the Pirates and he was 27 for 77 (.351 avg, 1.112 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 5 homers and 19 RBIs. Phelps should have no problem finding a new job as he is a solid major league hitter. In 446 career games in the majors, Phelps is 371 for 1,360 (.273 avg, .820 OPS) with 194 runs scored, 64 homers and 243 RBIs. Youman also should be able to find work as he is a lefty starting pitcher. Youman pitched in 16 games (8 starts) last season for the Pirates and he was 3-5 with a 5.97 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. Youman has now pitched in 21 games (11 starts) in his major league career and he is 3-7 with a 5.13 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. Josh Sharpless had a rough time in 6 games with the Pirates last season as he was 0-1 with a 12.46 ERA and a 1.85 WHIP. Sharpless has now pitched in 20 games (all in relief) in his major league career and he is 0-1 with a 4.41 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP.

This was an easy decision for the Pirates to make as Izturis was going to make 5.45 million bucks to sit on the Pirates bench and that just wasn’t going to happen. They instead gave Izturis a $300,000 buyout to walk away. Izturis played in 45 games for the Pirates last season and he was 34 for 123 (.276 avg, .643 OPS) with 16 runs scored and 8 RBIs. Izturis might find a starting job elsewhere in free agency as he’s been a good defensive shortstop over his career. Izturis has now played in 768 games in his major league career and he is 713 for 2,751 (.259 avg, .629 OPS) with 292 runs scored, 11 homers, 207 RBIs and 62 stolen bases.

The Pirates have hired John Russell to manage the team in 2008. Russell doesn’t have any managerial experience at the major league level so the Pirates might endure some growing pains. Russell has managed 10 seasons in the minor leagues and he has compiled a 666-647 (50.7%) record.