On Tuesday Juan Pierre signed a one-year, $300K deal. On Wednesday, he signed a new four-year, $7.5M contract. Colorado always wanted to lock Pierre into a multi-year deal, but they were uncertain as to whether negotiations could be completed before an MLB deadline, so the one-year contract was simply a precaution.

Fortunately, the two sides were able to agree on the long-term contract very shortly thereafter. He will receive $500K in 2002, $900K in 2003, $2.3M in 2004, and $3.4M in 2005, as well as a $400K signing bonus. This contract is generally viewed as highly favoring the Rockies considering that Pierre has little to no injury risk and a great deal of potential. The contract will buy out all but one of his arbitration seasons, leaving Colorado with a year to negotiate a new deal before he can become a free agent at the end of the 2006 season.

Pierre may have slightly undersold himself, but considering possible changes in the structure of arbitration and free agency and that he would not have been arbitration-eligible until after 2003, I don't think the contract is that bad for him. After only a little over a year of service time, he was able to sign a contract that should insure his future financial security.

Colorado has locked in a centerfielder and leadoff hitter with the defensive qualities needed to play in the large Coors' outfield who also possess an offensive profile that suits the unique features of the stadium. While his somewhat limited service time does provide some risk for the Rockies, his statistics to date fully support his ability to continue improving upon his past performance.

He's an extreme groundball hitter with a career ground/fly ratio of 2.83, and when his drives get through to the big outfield, his speed can carry him around the bases. However his groundball tendencies mean that he does not have the inflated home run totals of his teammates. Consequently, if he is ever traded, which I consider to be very unlikely at this point, he will retain most of his value as long as he can stay off teams with small outfields.

Shawn Sonnier was announced as the player-to-be-named-later for Michael Tucker, who the Cubs traded to the Royals on December 19th last year. At the time, I was inclined to think that practically any trade that removed Tucker and his hefty contract from Chicago was a positive move regardless of what the Cubs received in return. Acquiring Sonnier puts the icing on the cake.

Sonnier will likely spend most of this season rehabbing from January surgery to tighten up his shoulder as well as to repair his labrum and rotator cuff. While at 25 he's a little old never to have reached the majors, he has shown steady progress through the minors while posting impressive numbers. He's advanced to a new level each year after receiving a late start as a non-drafted free agent.

Last season at AAA, he dropped from over the 3 K/BB he had posted at the lower levels to slightly below 2 K/BB. However, given the extent of the damage discovered during his surgery, it is likely that his injuries were affecting his performance during the season. Even when injured last season he still managed almost a K/IP and it was closer to 1.5 K/IP before his problems. He's also managed to keep his hits in check and never really struggled with homers until last season. He throws his fastball in the low-90's in combination with a slider and a splitter.

Chicago is not in need of immediate bullpen help, so they can afford to let him rehab from his injury and then think about using him in the bullpen in the next year or two. Between the condition of his shoulder and the fact that he was in the pitcher-unfriendly environment of the Pacific Coast League last season, he had legitimate reasons for every aspect of his drop off, which suggests that he should be able to completely bounce back to his former levels unless he suffers additional health complications.

While his late start and the delay from the injury decrease his value as a prospect, he should still be a highly skilled pitcher with several very good, if not closer caliber, years ahead of him in a major league pen. The Cubs have added another talented arm to their minor league stock in return for an overpriced outfielder who wouldn't have even started for them.

Oakland GM Billy Beane's hard work and roster management skills were rewarded with a contract extension that will keep him with the A's through 2008. Though this was not an unexpected move, it is good to know that his bosses recognize his quality work and appreciate his contributions to the franchise. I'm sure it is encouraging for him to know that he'll be around to watch all the players that he's signing to multi-year deals.

I neglected to mention this in my frustration over the proposed debt restriction and de facto salary cap, but Cubs' President Andy MacPhail was named to the owner's negotiating committee. Another high ranking club official will reportedly be added to the committee in the near future to bring the total number of members to five. Bob DuPuy recently replaced Paul Beeston as the third member of the team along with MLB Executive VP of Labor Rob Manfred and outside legal counsel Howard Ganz.

Andy is a third generation top baseball executive. He has big shoes to fill as both his father and grandfather have been inducted into the Hall of Fame as executives. His father was actually the owners' chief negotiator in the 1995 labor talks. His nephew Lee recently took a position in the Montreal front office, continuing the family tradition.

While MacPhail has many good qualities as an executive, I don't feel his addition to the committee is an overly positive move. He cannot be described as sympathetic to the players, and I think he is unlikely to challenge even ill-advised instructions from the commissioner. His intelligence and experience will probably make him a dangerous rival of the union.