The Pirates have seen some struggles from their bench throughout the year. At the start of the calendar year it looked like they could have a very strong bench. They had Jung-ho Kang, Corey Hart, Sean Rodriguez, and Travis Snider -- four guys who had either been starters for periods of time in the recent past, or who had a chance to be starters in the future.
They traded Snider before the season, opting to potentially sell at his highest value and get a few prospects, while going with a combination of Andrew Lambo, Jaff Decker, or Jose Tabata.