Phillies Sign Juan Pierre to Minor League Deal

11:33AM EST: Pierre has now agreed to terms with the Phillies, according to Jim Salisbury.

11:07AM EST: The Philadelphia Phillies are nearing a deal to sign free agent outfielder Juan Pierre (that's John Peter to you plebes) to a minor league contract, according to Jim Salisbury of CSN and confirmed by Jon Heyman of CBSSports.

Pierre, 34, is a career .296 / .345 / .363 hitter (read: hits for average, walks a little, Tickle-Me-Elmo has more power) but has seen that drop to the .275s over the past couple seasons. He's been remarkably durable, playing 152+ games in nine of his twelve seasons.

• Twitter / @JSalisburyCSN - "Phillies not done with bench? Source says they have had "serious discussions" with free agent OF Juan Pierre on minor-league deal"
• Twitter / @JonHeymanCBS - "juan pierre likely to sign with phils (as @JSalisburyCSN 1st said suggested). expected to be minor-league deal"

• Twitter / @jcrasnick - "JSalisburyCSN reports #Phillies talking to Juan Pierre. Pierre is good buddies with both Dontrelle Willis and Jimmy Rollins"
• Phillies Rumors: Replacing Valdez (Theriot?), Pence, Mayberry - MLB Daily Dish
  Buster Olney is speculating that the Phillies could be looking for Valdez's replacement and points to a possible candidate: Ryan Theriot. However, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer says the club has limited options and presumably limited dollars to play with because of the distance between the team and Hunter Pence (reportedly $2.8 million):
• Philadelphia Phillies Complete Organizational Chart - MLB Daily Dish
  A complete, live chart of the Phillies organization -- leadership, rosters, salaries, arbitration and options, as well as prospect rankings.