The Pirates lost shortstop Ray Olmedo on waivers to the Phillies. This won’t hurt the Pirates at all, it just means that Olmedo was beaten out by Josh Wilson and Luis Rivas. Wilson and Rivas will likely battle for the right to be the 2nd backup infielder on the Pirates behind Chris Gomez.

27-year old righty swinging Ronny Paulino followed up his breakthrough 2006 season with a very disappointing 2007 season. He came to camp out of shape last season and he never got into a groove at the plate. He played in 133 games for the Pirates last season and he was 120 for 457 (.263 avg, .703 OPS) with 56 runs scored, 11 homers and 55 RBIs. Paulino only threw out 20% of the runners trying to steal on him last season but Pirates pitchers had a 4.61 ERA with him behind the plate which isn’t that bad considering the pitching staff he was catching.

27-year old switch-hitting Ryan Doumit isn’t much of a defender but he can hit the baseball. He played in 83 games for the Pirates last season and he was 69 for 252 (.274 avg, .813 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 9 homers and 32 RBIs. Doumit only threw out 16% of the runners trying to steal on him last season and Pirates pitchers had a 5.51 ERA with him behind the plate.

34-year old Raul Chavez will likely begin the season in AAA for the Pirates. He likely won’t make it to the Pirates roster unless Paulino or Doumit go down with an injury. Chavez has played in 170 games in his major league career and he is 86 for 405 (.212 avg, .537 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 4 homers and 40 RBIs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: C

The Pirates have signed 29-year old righty Byung-Hyun Kim to a 1-year contract. Kim pitched in 28 games (22 starts) for the Marlins, D-Backs and Rockies last season and he was 10-8 with a 6.08 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP. Kim has now pitched in 394 games (87 starts) in his major league career and he is 54-60 with 86 saves, a 4.42 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. Kim will likely be a long reliever for the Pirates in 2008 but he will move into the rotation if any of the Pirates starters go down to injury.

The Pirates really needed to get out and make some moves this off-season but they didn’t do much. Doug Mientiewicz was the best position player that the Pirates brought in. He will provide the team with good defense and probably some key pinch hits. Josh Wilson, Ray Olmedo, Luis Rivas and Jorge Velandia will battle for backup jobs in the infield but none of them will make much of an impact. The biggest additions to the pitching staff were Hector Carrasco, Jaret Wright and Casey Fossum and that’s downright pathetic!

OFF SEASON GRADE FOR THE FRONT OFFICE: F-

The Pirates have signed 33 year old lefty swinging firstbaseman Doug Mientkiewicz to a minor league deal. He played in 72 games last season for the Yankees and he was 46 for 166 (.277 avg, .789 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 5 homers and 24 RBIs. Mientkiewicz has now played in 942 games in his major league career and he is 814 for 3,009 (.271 avg, .765 OPS) with 385 runs scored, 64 homers and 372 RBIs. This was a decent signing for the Pirates as Mientkiewicz is one of the best defensive firstbasemen in all of baseball and he should be a decent pinch hitter for the Pirates.