2 more Pirates players who should hit waiver wire after Michael A. Taylor decision

Michael A. Taylor is still a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, but he may not be for much longer. The Pirates placed the veteran outfielder on outright waivers Sunday, and if he remains unclaimed by another team, a DFA could still be possible.

The move comes in the middle of the worst offensive season of Taylor's 11-year MLB career. He’s batting .194/.256/.283 with four homers, which is also his worst career power performance. It's particularly disappointing given that was coming off a season with the Minnesota Twins where he had a .220/.278/.442 line with some of his best power numbers of his career. He started to hit briefly in July, but returned to struggling over the last few weeks.

Pittsburgh will hope that another team will claim Taylor within the allotted 48-hour period and provide some modest payroll relief. In the meantime, let's look at some other candidates on the Pirates' 40-man roster this season who could end up DFA'd and on the waiver wire before too long.

In fact, one player who was initially theorized in an earlier draft of this piece to be a candidate ... was DFA'd on Monday afternoon, per FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray.

Jake Woodford

Jake Woodford gave up eight runs (six earned) on six hits and three walks while striking out three over 3 1/3 innings in a loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday. The right-hander allowed a career-worst eight runs and has now given up seven or more runs in back-to-back starts. His ERA is now 7.71. His ouster was unsurprising.

The Pirates selected Woodford's contract in the aftermath of the trade deadline, when they also placed right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski on the 15-day injured list and transferred right-hander Daulton Jeffries to the 60-day IL. Woodford's only job was to eat innings, and with Mlodzinski reportedly on track to return before the start of September, his days in Pittsburgh were clearly numbered.

2 more players Pirates should place on waivers after Michael A. Taylor decision

Billy McKinney

The Pirates selected Billy McKinney's contract earlier this month to provide some depth in the corner outfield and at first base after Andrew McCutchen's injury shifted right fielder Bryan De La Cruz into the primary DH role. Since his call-up from Triple-A Indianapolis last Monday, McKinney has gone 3-for-13 with an RBI, a run and six strikeouts.

McKinney is a career .209 hitter and a utility outfielder on a roster full of utility outfielders like Ji Hwan Bae and Connor Joe, to name a few. The Pirates also have outfielder Joshua Palacios in Triple-A, who has been serviceable at the MLB level this season. In other words, McKinney is extremely expendable. Even with MLB rosters set to expand beginning Sept. 1, it's difficult to see him making it to the end of the season with the Pirates.

Brady Feigl

Not to rain on a parade that hasn't even begun yet, but southpaw reliever Brady Feigl is also a candidate to be placed on waivers before the end of the season. The Pirates selected Feigl's contract from Triple-A Indianapolis in the wake of the season-ending injury to Hunter Stratton, setting him up to make his MLB debut at age 33. It's a tremendous achievement for Feigl's career, but he's likely to be just a short-term add to the Pirates' bullpen due to the sudden and unexpected nature of Stratton's injury.

More Pirates content from Rum Bunter