The Price Of Pierre

You already know how I feel about Juan Pierre.  What's the deal with the three pitchers the Cubs shipped over to get him?

Renyel Pinto is a 23 year-old southpaw with a plus changeup and 94 mph fastball.  While ranked the Cubs' 6th best prospect by Baseball America before the 2005 season, he's now dropped out of the top ten.  If you look at Pinto's numbers the last couple of years, he's mastered Double A but can't crack Triple A.  However, he's gotten only about 30 innings in Iowa as an opportunity.  Pinto prevents home runs well and strikes people out, but is a bit generous with the walks.

Ricky Nolasco is a 23 year-old righthander with a low 90s sinker and a good curveball.  Nolasco was ranked just 19th among Cubs prospects before the '05 season, and was upgraded to 7th overall after this performance in Double A this year.  The Cubs pushed him up to Iowa for 40 innings in '04 and he didn't fare well.  Nolasco has pretty good control and nice strikeout numbers.  He was to be sent to the Rangers for Rafael Palmeiro in 2003, but Palmeiro vetoed the deal.

Cubs fans might be a little more familiar with Sergio Mitre, as he's thrown 121 uninspiring innings in the big leagues.  Mitre has looked OK at Iowa, but has been never been able to translate success save for a brilliant 16 inning stretch this year.  He might be able to crack the back end of Florida's rotation in due time.

To sum it up, the Cubs didn't really give up any can't miss prospects in this trade.

Comments

[Nathan]

If the Cubs spent last offseason getting rid of the negativity in the clubhouse (Sosa, Farnsworth, Mercker, and even Steve Stone) and dismantling their team, why would they bring in someone who has obvious anger issues just a year later?

[Nathan]

The previous post was in regards to Milton Bradley.

[Army Guy]

The D-Rays traded Brazelton for Burroughs. I see this as a good trade for Brazelton. I went to college with Brazelton at Middle Tennessee State, and he was a good pitcher that came from a troubled past. I'll be glad to see him playing for a playoff team (all be it a not great team).

[leefanatic25]

the brazelton trade is great for the cubs it means lugo or cantu prob. lugo will def. be dealt cubs could rlly use lugo

[Army Guy]

I read somewhere yesterday that the D-Rays management talked with B.J. Upton last night, of which he came out feeling good. Meaning he was told he would be playing a lot more this next season. HELLOOOO LUGO!!

[RumorMonger]

Yeah, and Upton makes a great sleeper in fantasy baseball.

[Tom Foolery]

This is from Stats.inc.

Scouting Report

2004 Season

Coming off an eye-opening season as the fire-starter for the World Series champs, Juan Pierre was paid more attention than ever, both at the plate and on the basepaths. He slumped badly in June, but all in all Pierre managed to turn in another strong season. His consecutive-games streak stands at 335 games and counting.

Hitting

For the third time in the past four years, Pierre banged out 200 hits. It's no accident. Though he could show more patience for a leadoff hitter, his remarkable hand-eye coordination allows him to put almost any ball in play. He is fearless against lefties and doesn't give in against anybody, Randy Johnson included. He saw more hard stuff on the inner half last year, putting a crimp in his slap-and-dash ways. So Pierre eventually adjusted and started pulling more pitches between the first and second basemen. Always thinking, he's not afraid to be innovative at the plate. He didn't bunt as much in the first half, but started to reclaim that part of his repertoire after the break.

Baserunning & Defense

Largely due to the adjustments by opposing pitchers, Pierre didn't come close to defending his first NL stolen-base crown. He was caught a career-high 24 times in 69 attempts and saw his success rate drop from 76 to 65 percent. His defense remains a huge plus at spacious Pro Player Stadium. His range allowed the Marlins to get by with Miguel Cabrera and Jeff Conine flanking him for the first four months. Pierre's arm probably precludes him from Gold Glove consideration, but he never gives up on balls in the gap and makes his share of highlight catches. His resemblance to a young Mickey Rivers remains eerie.

2005 Outlook

Pierre is due $3.6 million in the final year of his contract, after which he will be a fifth-year eligible for salary arbitration. He could yet grow too pricey for the budget-conscious Marlins, but for now he remains their heart and soul.

[Tom Foolery]

This is from Stats.inc.

Scouting Report

2004 Season

Coming off an eye-opening season as the fire-starter for the World Series champs, Juan Pierre was paid more attention than ever, both at the plate and on the basepaths. He slumped badly in June, but all in all Pierre managed to turn in another strong season. His consecutive-games streak stands at 335 games and counting.

Hitting

For the third time in the past four years, Pierre banged out 200 hits. It's no accident. Though he could show more patience for a leadoff hitter, his remarkable hand-eye coordination allows him to put almost any ball in play. He is fearless against lefties and doesn't give in against anybody, Randy Johnson included. He saw more hard stuff on the inner half last year, putting a crimp in his slap-and-dash ways. So Pierre eventually adjusted and started pulling more pitches between the first and second basemen. Always thinking, he's not afraid to be innovative at the plate. He didn't bunt as much in the first half, but started to reclaim that part of his repertoire after the break.

Baserunning & Defense

Largely due to the adjustments by opposing pitchers, Pierre didn't come close to defending his first NL stolen-base crown. He was caught a career-high 24 times in 69 attempts and saw his success rate drop from 76 to 65 percent. His defense remains a huge plus at spacious Pro Player Stadium. His range allowed the Marlins to get by with Miguel Cabrera and Jeff Conine flanking him for the first four months. Pierre's arm probably precludes him from Gold Glove consideration, but he never gives up on balls in the gap and makes his share of highlight catches. His resemblance to a young Mickey Rivers remains eerie.

2005 Outlook

Pierre is due $3.6 million in the final year of his contract, after which he will be a fifth-year eligible for salary arbitration. He could yet grow too pricey for the budget-conscious Marlins, but for now he remains their heart and soul.

[Jack]

That stuff is outdated.

[Cubbies in my stove]

Thank you for finally acknowledging that the Pierre trade was good for the Cubs. While your first post was essentially a rip on all of the downsides about Pierre, your second post on the subject was a fair analysis of what the Cubs did in the deal. I applaud you for your rebound.

One commenter mentioned in the previous Pierre post that the Cubbies just gave away their farm system for a poor one year rental. Well, not only is it unfair to say they gave away their farm (None of these pitchers were Top 5 prospects) but it is unfair to dubb Pierre "A below-average rental." Without going through the stats again, let me remind you that Pierre is clearly a very good hitter (Props to the commenters who mentioned his numerous 200 hit seasons) and will fill the 1 spot very nicely for the Cubs. Also remember that the north siders have the money and ability to give him a long term deal next off-season if they so choose.

Even if he does end up being a 1 year journeymen with my favorite team, you have to consider the situation the Cubs are in right now; for them there is no next year. The Red Sox and White sox have both won the World Series, making the Cubs the team with the longest drought by almost a half-century!! Something tells me that Hendry would rather win this year than worry about the next.

[RumorMonger]

Cubbies, my stance is that the Cubs didn't give up much value, but there are better options in CF.

[Joe]

Hahah I cant believe you people take this site seriously. This guy is so full of shit its unbelieveable. He claims that Juan Pierre was last in Range in CF?? Why was Jim Edmonds, and Andruw Jones not mentioned at the top of the list? Sure, the numbers make it look like he knows his baseball. Do a LITTLE more homework before you go out and make false accusations.

[RumorMonger]

hahahaha yeah that Bill James is a moron bro