Don Kelly was out. Dan Kolb was in. And Matt Capps was still available.
All of the above left the Pirates' bullpen with one extra member heading into their interleague series opener Tuesday night against the Texas Rangers at PNC Park.
Kelly -- an infielder that earned a surprise roster spot out of spring training -- was designated for assignment to make room for Kolb, a right-handed reliever that many pegged as a favorite to join the Pirates' struggling bullpen sooner rather than later.
Kelly, a 1998 graduate of Mt. Lebanon High School, appeared in just 24 games for the Pirates and received only 26 at-bats. He will have 10 days to catch on with another major-league club before having to decide upon accepting his assignment.
Despite hitting just .154 with the Pirates, Kelly was designated more because management needed to protect against the upcoming suspension of Capps -- though, the Pirates' newly-minted closer was available against the Rangers last night.
Capps said he expected his four-game suspension to begin yesterday. Apparently, so did the Pirates -- hence the promotion of Kolb.
"With the unknown of that and the fact that we are struggling in the bullpen, we felt like it was important to give (manager) Jim (Tracy) as much support as possible," general manager Dave Littlefield said.
"It is a little unusual situation because usually we have 12 pitchers, but in this case, we have 13. We'll have to just wait and see where this Capps thing goes."
Capps' suspension could start any day. The promise of that, combined with former closer Salomon Torres being on the disabled list due to right elbow inflammation, would have the Pirates left without a true closer candidate in the bullpen.
Kolb's past suggests he could fill that role. He joined the Pirates with 73 major-league saves to his credit, including 39 with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2004.
However, Tracy said Kolb likely would work during the middle innings, not with the Pirates looking to lock down a victory with three outs remaining.
"In Danny's case, you are looking more along the lines of the sixth or seventh inning," Tracy said. "But obviously, it goes without saying, that we have eight members in our bullpen. We're waiting for some of those individuals, whoever they may be, to step up. Right now, we are underperforming, and we need to be better."
The Pirates' bullpen was a bright spot during a 95-loss season in 2006, when former closer Mike Gonzalez, Torres and Capps anchored a sturdy unit that Tracy considered among the best in the National League.
Those days are a distant memory.
Gonzalez, who led the club with 24 saves in as many chances last season, was traded to Atlanta for first baseman Adam LaRoche. His replacement, Torres, converted 12 of 18 save opportunities this year before losing his role to Capps, who can claim only three saves on his major-league resume.
Prior to last night, the Pirates' bullpen had struggled to a 4.85 ERA -- the worst in the National League and 27th among 30 major-league clubs.
Opponents were batting .269 off Pirates' relievers -- 24th in the majors. The Pirates' bullpen had surrendered 86 walks in 204 1/3 innings. It had also dropped 11 games.
"Walking guys in the back end of games when you have leads and you set stages for people -- you're asking for it," Tracy said. "And we have been given our fair share of it."
