Dodgers Give Juan Pierre 5 Years, $44-45 Million

Crazy, dumb and dumb. Contrary to popular belief, Pierre isn't a good player. He doesn't get on base much, he has no power at all, he doesn't play defense very well, and he doesn't steal bases nearly effectively enough to make up for any of those shortcomings.

Worse, the Dodgers have a legitimately excellent centerfield prospect in Matt Kemp. Kemp was only okay in a trial with the big club next year, but he was only 21. In a year or two - or maybe even less - he'll be playing circles around Pierre. So the solution here, it seems to me, would have been to sign a veteran centerfielder (like Kenny Lofton, who the Dodgers had last year) to a short-term deal and let him share playing time with Kemp. Instead, they've relegated Kemp to a corner outfield spot, while committing huge money to a guy who's likely to be pretty terrible in a few years when his foot speed starts to disappear. I don't think there is any way Pierre is worth half this much. He is badly overvalued, and the only reason why I can think of is that people are enamored of his stolen base totals.