Player Profiles: Left Field - Juan Pierre

Player: Juan Pierre

2008 Stats: .283, one homerun, 28 RBIs, 40 stolen bases, 12 caught stealing, .327 OBP

2008 Analysis: Pierre played a mixture of left and center field through the 2008 season and was... well... Juan Pierre.

His average and OBP were his lowest since 2005, though in fairness, Pierre had inconsistent playing time. He only made it into 119 games (the first time he didn't play all 162 games since 2002), though he managed to stay in the news by complaining about that fact a couple times over the season.

Still though, Pierre managed to hit his first homerun since... ever... and managed to steal 40 bases ...which would be a much more impressive number if he wasn't caught 12 times (76.9%).

2009 Outlook: What to do with Juan Pierre? At the start of the off-season, Pierre asked to be traded, and as of this moment, has yet to be. His contract isn't untradeable, but it's pretty close. He's owed $28.5 million dollars over the next three years which is not a pretty number.

What would I like for Juan Pierre in 2009? I'd like to see him starting somewhere in the outfield, just not for the Dodgers. I'd like to get him traded to some team that will put him in 162 games because I do think, for the most part, he's a good guy and really wants to play. I also think, with Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier being almost sure locks for the outfield in 2009, and the possibilty of bringing back Manny Ramírez, there's no room for Pierre in the outfield (if we don't bring back Manny, and don't sign someone else for the outfield, that's a different story, but operating under the assumption we sign someone, there's no room for him).

What do I think will really happen? Pierre's contract will be hard to move, and there is a pretty good chance we'll see Pierre back in 2009. Whether or not he's a starter or just a spot starter remains to be seen but I'm guessing that Pierre will probably be back.