Analysis of the Juan Pierre Trade

And with that, the most expensive fourth outfielder in baseball (aside from Matthews Jr, if he's even good enough to be considered a fourth outfielder) was finally traded.

White Sox acquire: Juan Pierre

Dodgers acquire: prospects John Ely and Jon Link

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White Sox Perspective:

• Acquire "true" leadoff hitter, who can score lots of runs
• Adds speed to the offense
• Little things: bunt, take the extra base, etc.
• Durability and leadership
• Only paying $8 million over two years for Pierre
• Did not give up any exceptional prospects

Conclusion: I mentioned the White Sox a week back as a potential landing spot for Pierre, but the White Sox did not have to trade overpriced relief pitcher Scott Linebrink. It's hard not to like this deal for the White Sox. Sure Pierre has been a backup for nearly two years, but he brings a number of intangibles to the table that will make him especially valuable to the White Sox. From an economic standpoint, the White Sox made out quite nicely in this deal because the financial risk is very low thanks to the Dodgers, who picked up a majority of the contract. The Sox essentially replaced Scott Podsednik with another speedster, who probably will cost them less money.

Dodgers Perspective:

• Finally get rid of Juan Pierre!
• Aliviates the pressure to play Pierre everyday
• Save $8 million in the process

Conclusion: The Dodgers' financial situation obviously made this deal more appealing to the team, given that they will now save $8 million dollars over the next two years. Pierre was a nice player to have around, but he was far too expensive to be a backup. If the Dodgers were not in such a dire financial state, I'm guessing that the Dodgers would have strongly pursued an overpriced pitcher in return for Pierre, but saving money was far more important to the Dodgers right now.