Brian Bass

Bass was unreliable out of Baltimore's bullpen, but he was frequently in an unenviable mop-up role when starters let things get out of hand early in games. The role may not be ideal, but Bass is not capable of much more than that. He'll try to win a job in Pittsburgh's wide open bullpen competition.

Bass pitched 44 games out of the bullpen for Minnesota in 2008, before he was sent down to Triple-A and traded to the Orioles. Baltimore wants to give Bass a shot at the rotation in 2009 and he pitched fairly well in four starts in September. Still, he did not have a solid season as a starter above High-A with Minnesota in the minors.

Double-A has been a rude level to Bass. After dominating the lower levels for four seasons (3.35 ERA in 61 starts), Bass has hit a two-season wall in Wichita. His 2005 was a touch better but he didn't show any mastery of the level. In fact, he posted career highs in walks per nine innings (2.89) and home runs allowed (14). Strong performances in the Arizona Fall League give a glimmer of hope, but he'll need to improve at Double-A to move up.