The Bucs have traded pitching prospect Todd Redmond to the Braves for reliever Tyler Yates, and will buy out Byung-Hyun Kim's contract. The Bucs also released Juan Perez, allowed Jaret Wright to become a free agent, added Doug Mientkiewicz to the 40-man roster, and sent Jorge Velandia and Josh Wilson to minor league camp. Whew! I wish I had more time to deal with this stuff, but here are a few quick thoughts.
-Losing Redmond is no big deal; if this had happened a year ago, I would've been upset, but now he looks like a classic finesse pitcher who isn't going to have an easy time in the high minors, let alone in the majors. As for Yates, he isn't young, but he had a good strikeout rate last year and could be poised to have a good season or two. Or not. Either way, I'm fine with this deal, as I'm pretty sure Redmond's not going to amount to anything. (With his mediocre stuff, he also doesn't fit management's preference for power arms.)
-The BK Kim buyout was necessary because he didn't exactly wow anyone in camp, and took weeks to even get ready to throw. If he doesn't want to revive his career, it shouldn't be the Pirates' business to help him.
-Based on the Velandia and Wilson cuts, it looks like Freddy Sanchez won't start the year on the DL.
More later, probably.