Dodgers outfielder Juan Pierre is reportedly drawing interest from three or four teams, according to Steve Henson of Yahoo! Sports. Pierre, who didn't miss a game between 2003-2007, has had his time cut significantly since joining the Dodgers. In 2009, he had more of an opportunity to prove his value with Manny Ramirez missing 50 games.
Pierre is one of the top leadoff hitters and base runners in the game. He has two years and 18.5 million dollars left on his contract, so a trade is reasonable.
Henson mentions a three-way trade that would land the Dodgers a "bad contract" starting pitcher. While I thought of the usual bad contract pitchers (Derek Lowe, Oliver Perez, etc) I thought about what teams have been trying to work three-way deals lately.
The Cubs and Rangers have been discussing a deal around Milton Bradley. While it is unclear if the Cubs have asked for Kevin Millwood, bringing in a third team could entice the Rangers.
Here are the three players and their contracts:
Kevin Millwood - 1 year, 12 million
Milton Bradley - 2 year, 21 million
Juan Pierre - 2 year, 18.5 million
If the Cubs agreed to trade Bradley and cash for Pierre and basically swapped contracts, then the Dodgers could trade Bradley with the money from the Cubs for Millwood.
Say the Cubs covered the difference between Bradley and Pierre, and included 5-6 million dollars more. I'll let you know tomorrow if it has been discussed.