Bucs sign Kim for one year, $850,000

The Pirates had their first full-squad workout Wednesday.

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Free-agent pitcher Byung-Hyun Kim and the Pittsburgh Pirates agreed to a one-year, $850,000 contract Wednesday.

The deal, which could earn Kim more than $1 million in performance bonuses, is pending a physical.

Kim, a 29-year-old right-hander from South Korea, spent 2007 with the Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks and Florida Marlins, going 10-8 with a 6.08 ERA in 28 appearances, including 22 starts.

General manager Neal Huntington said the team’s interest in Kim is solely as a reliever. The Pirates entered spring training with their starting rotation set but with four openings in the bullpen.

Also Wednesday, the team had its first full-squad workout under manager John Russell, a three-hour session. In the morning, Huntington and Russell addressed the players.

“I think we’re a complete ballclub, and I told the players that,” Russell said. “We’re not so much the power-hitting team that’s going to hit a bunch of home runs, but we can handle the bat, we can pitch, we can play defense. It’s a matter of putting it all together.”

Although the Pirates are coming off a 68-94 season and did little more than tinker with the roster in the offseason — Kim’s signing will be only their second of a major league free agent — several veteran players sounded optimistic.

“I think it can be a good team,” said shortstop Jack Wilson, the team’s most tenured player entering his eighth season in Pittsburgh. “But we all have a job to do, and we didn’t do it last year. You’re not going to win when, out of 25 guys, maybe three have a good year. How many guys had a decent year? Or even an average year? We all struggled.”

First baseman Adam LaRoche said: “It’s up to all of us as players to get on board with the program.”

Second baseman Freddy Sanchez (shoulder), who stayed out of infield drills, and reliever Damaso Marte (flu), who did his first light throwing of the spring, did not participate in the workout.