Juan Pierre Signing Thought

I was going to type up my own post on this issue, but Keith Law, blogodor for ESPN.com pretty much summed up what I was going to say.

"The early contender for the worst contract of the offseason has to be the five-year deal just handed to Juan Pierre by the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are working as diligently as possible to undo all the good work done to their farm system over the last five years.

Pierre is a slap-hitting speedster who has drawn 50 walks in a season just once in his career (2003), and whose above-average range in center is mitigated somewhat by his below-average throwing arm. His primary asset, his ability to run, is generally the first skill to decline as a player ages, and since Pierre turns 30 in August, he's headed quickly towards the edge of the cliff. On a good team, he's a bench player -- even at his current level of ability; if he can't run, he's a 4A player. The fact that the Dodgers just committed five years and what will probably be way too much money to a player whose ideal role is "defensive replacement/pinch runner" is mind-boggling. It's almost certain that Pierre will bat first or second in the Dodgers' lineup (you don't bat a $9 million player eighth, even if that's where he belongs) and those 500-odd outs he makes every year will go a long way towards holding the Dodgers' offense down.

It's made all the worse by its combined ripple effect with the decision to re-up Nomar Garciaparra for two years, leaving just two lineup spots (left and right field) for Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp and James Loney. Ethier is the most polished of the three and has the most big-league experience but has the lowest ceiling; Kemp has by far the highest ceiling but is still somewhat raw as a player; Loney is in between but may be at a slight disadvantage because he has only appeared in 20 games in the outfield in his pro career. All three of these players are likely to outproduce Pierre right now given the same kind of playing time, and their combined salaries will barely top 10 percent of what Pierre himself will make this year. We've seen some surprisingly high deals so far this offseason, but this is the first one that's certifiable."

I thought that this signing would grow on me as time went on, but Pierre looks to sink the Dodgers' greatest strengths, OBP and plate patience, while worsening their outfield defense. Making matters worse, he's already on the wrong side of 30 and that nothing's been done yet to address the lack of pitching. I just think this is a "name" signing more than it is a quality one. Even if he's supposed to be there to replace Kenny Lofton and not J.D. Drew, who says we wanted another Kenny Lofton in the first place?



Expect to see a lot more of this: Juan Pierre being caught stealing at Chavez Ravine.

This entry was posted by VJ, on Friday, November 24, 2006. You can leave your response.