Juan Pierre is a free agent after the season, and I've been fearing that we'd have an offseason of folks clamoring for the Rangers to give him a big deal, claiming that he'd give the Rangers the speedy leadoff hitting centerfielder they've long needed, ignoring the fact that Pierre is not a good player.
However, the Chicago Tribune is reporting that the Cubs are hoping to lock him up before he hits the open market. The article includes this remarkable comment:
Soon Pierre will get a chance to compare himself with Furcal, and the Cubs will have to determine whether he deserves a contract similar to that in length and value. Though Pierre is unlikely to get $13 million a year, he might be able to double his salary of $5.75 million on the open market, especially with few quality leadoff hitters available.
The idea of Juan Pierre getting $11.5 million per year makes my head hurt. Yes, the guy is fast...but he has no power, isn't a great defensive centerfielder, and is currently working on his second straight season with a sub-.330 OBP, meaning he's a pretty lousy leadoff hitter, as well.
Hopefully, the Cubs will spend a lot of money to lock Pierre up, so that the Rangers won't end up signing him, and so I won't have to spend the winter hearing people braying about how the Rangers need to go get him...