The latest buzz is that the Tigers are are trying to move Carlos Guillen, and there may be some sort of partnership with the Dodgers to acquire Juan Pierre. But it appears that both teams are in need of 3rd team to fill in the blanks.
The Fox Sports boys report that the Dodgers are looking for a reliable starter with a bad contract to swap for Juan Pierre who is owed $26 million $18.5 million over the next 2 seasons. The Tigers have plenty of bad contract pitchers, but none are really considered reliable meaning the Dodgers and Tigers need to involve a third team to complete things.
Pierre is a below average hitter who’s only value is derived from batting average (like Polanco but faster). With the glove he is average-ish in centerfield according to fangraphs. Color me not thrilled.
There is another aspect to consider with a potential Guillen move. He lives near Miguel Cabrera in Venezuela. I also get the impression he is a team leader. I think as much as the Tigers would like to move the contract, they’d also like Guillen around to mentor the younger Cabrera. I’m not big on keeping guys for the sake of their clubhouse presence, but there are some more involved circumstances here.
UPDATE: Jason Beck spoke with Guillen’s agent who has not been contacted. Guillen is a 10-5 player meaning he’d have to approve any trade.
Image credit lakelandlocal on flickr
The only time I want Pierre in the Old English D is if he’s enrolled in the Tigers fantasy camp. This would be an AWFUL move. Awful. Atrocious. Any other adjective starting with the letter “a” you’d like to put here.
I wonder if they don’t really want Guillen in left and are afraid he’ll stir up some trouble if he’s DHing most of the time.
Maybe Raburn will be CF with Guillen in LF and then Austin Jackson is the DH. lol
I’m laughing because I’m trying to be in a positive mood after the Grandy departure, and I think the sad shape of our team is only going to make DD make more moves, and I’m praying for more moves and LOTS of them.
The more transactions we make between today and opening day, the better it will be for us for the years 2011-2015. Any time you can strengthen 5 future years at the expense of 1 or 2 you have to consider taking that deal. If you were able to take that deal enough times then you would theoretically become an omnipotent team before not too long, thus to achieve greatness you only need to make those types of moves a small handful of times in reality.
I would want to add Juan Pierre to my team about as much as I want to jam a pencil in my eye. He has this unfortunate habit of making more outs than most other hitters in the league.
Isn’t he seen mire as a LF?
Does anyone have his UZR for CF?
Cabrera was 2-45 wrsp before Guillen returned to the line-up. Both Magglio and Cabrera´s surges began after the ASG.
I have always been a huge Carlos Guillen advocate and fan, but as long as we’re speculating about his value as a mentor for Cabrera, then maybe we should consider the possibility that it has already been disproven. Cabrera made an awful series of individual decisions on the final weekend of last season, but his misstakes were not made in a vacuum. The organization, his teammates, coaches and manager bear some responsibility for having been on clear notice of a significant problem and not acting effectively to address it. We are not privy, of course, to what they did or did not do. But even if we give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they did something, we know that it did not work, based on the results.
That being said, to my knowledge, Juan Pierre is no AA mentor himself, and he carries a career EQA of .258. Pass.
OK, we do need a leadoff hitter, but let’s not get desperate here.
Are you guys aware he played for the Marlins for three years?
That’s it. Done deal.
Baseball Prospectus sums up Juan Pierre best: His current deal with the Dodgers is “the worst contract in the history of history” and he is “an impediment to winning”. Can’t add anything to that.
The #1 role of a leadoff hitter is to get on base. Speed and steals are a luxury, not a necessity. The Tiger’s last great leadoff hitter was Tony Phillips. Pierre has more value as a #2 hitter, but still not as much as Ryan Raburn. Our best option for a leadoff hitter now is…..ta-da….Carlos Guillen.
Hey, I’m a Mets fan, and I read this article and had a question for Tigers fans. Would you trade Carlos Guillen for Luis Castillo, Brian Stokes and Omir Santos?
I would trade Guillen for a box of baseballs, $50 cash, and, player to be named later. His contract is a drag. I actually like Guillen and think he is a good player. However at this point he is too often injured and plays a lousy LF.
As much as I loved Guillen as a SS, hit hitting has deteriorated to average, his fielding has deteriorated to below average, and his durability has deteriorated to laughable.
I would pass on stokes. He seems to have a mental block throwing strikes. Santos is a defensive catcher, never hit much. I think we already have one of those. I would narrowly pass on the offer. Castillo would be a prize for us; no hesitation…where do I sign?