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Pirates Spring Training: Scott Olsen Not Interested In Bullpen Role

Pirates pitcher Scott Olsen, who’s in competition with Charlie Morton and others for the Bucs’ fifth starter job, doesn’t sound happy about the possibility of being in the bullpen:

"They didn’t bring me in here to be a bullpen guy," Olsen said. "They want to do that, we are going to have to have a conversation about it, and we haven’t had one about it."

Tough luck, Scott. Ever since Olsen was signed, it has been clear that he would be competing for a starting role, not that he had already been granted one. And if he doesn’t have a starting role, then he’s a bullpen guy, and there’s not much he can do about it, because he’s signed to a major-league deal without an out clause.

If Olsen doesn’t make the rotation, that’s unfortunate for him, because due to the structure of his contract, he stands to make a ton of money if he sticks as a starter the whole year. But unless the Pirates flat-out lied to him (which seems unlikely, given that the entire city has known for some time that Olsen isn’t guaranteed a rotation job), this seems like a stupid, me-first comment.

With the recent injury to Joe Beimel, Olsen would be the only potential bullpen lefty with more than a tiny amount of major-league bullpen experience.

Photographs by dizfunk used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.