The Pirates have benched second baseman , their highest-paid player. Tired of waiting for Iwamura to break out of his season-long slump, Pittsburgh has replaced him with former first-round pick Neil Walker. Iwamura, acquired from Tampa Bay for reliever Jesse Chavez during the offseason, didn't take the demotion well despite his .172 batting average. "Hopefully, he'll take it the right way and works hard," manager John Russell said. The Pirates gambled by picking up Iwamura's $4.85 million contract even though he missed most of last season following left knee surgery.