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November 20, 2012

Out of Left Field

Fish Out Of Contention

by Matthew Kory

Last season the Phillies found themselves choosing between Juan Pierre and Scott Podsednik for the last spot on the bench. For this I made fun of them. Picking between two old guys whose careers were pretty much over is like choosing between getting kicked in the junk or punched in the neck. Neither is desirable and in fact you’re better off without both. The Phillies, in their infinite wisdom, chose Pierre, and exiled Podsednik to Elba the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs Elba.

The funny part was that Podsednik did nothing in Triple-A and was essentially given to the Red Sox, where he suddenly remembered (learned?) how to hit. Pierre had been slated for the back of the Phillies bench, but due to injures, he ended up with over 400 plate appearances wherein he somehow managed the respectable batting line of .307/.351/.371. So much for making fun of them.

Pierre was so good last season that he has already signed a free-agent deal. Now Juan Pierre is no back-of-the-bench player. Heck no! For the unprincely sum of $1.6 million Juan Pierre is now a major part of the new-look Marlins. The Marlins were so proud of the signing they sent out an official Tweet proclaiming it “OFFICIAL” that they had just signed Pierre. No response yet from Giancarlo Stanton on the signing, official or otherwise.

Pierre’s deal is fourth most expensive on the team, so at least in context you can see why they went all caps on that announcement. Pierre jumped just ahead of Greg Dobbs’ two-year, $3 million deal, something that is sure to engender some dissent in the clubhouse. Here are the top four Marlins players by salary in 2013:

1. Ricky Nolasco ($11.5 million)

2. Yunel Escobar ($5 million)