The usually reliable Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported earlier today that OF Juan Pierre (above, left) is on the brink of signing with Los Angeles of Los Angeles and “is believed to be seeking $9M a season and his contract could be for as long as five years.” Which makes J.D. Drew seem like a great deal at 5 years for $55 million. Seriously, now would be a good time to start throwing the “collusion” word around. As in, owners, agents and players are all colluding to spend all available revenue on mediocre talent.

XM’s expert analyst Kevin Kennedy is awfully impressed by the pending move, hailing Dodgers GM Ned Colletti, “for not just sitting around. If J.D. Drew doesn’t want to play for the Dodgers, you’ve got to make your move.” Indeed, a lesser baseball executive — say, a calculator-wielding person named Paul — would handle the situation very differently, either sitting on his hands until Opening Day, or even worse, offering J.D. Drew an ownership stake in the ballclub.

UPDATE : 5 years, $45 million.  Then again, if the Cubs are willing to pay their new leadoff hitter (the one who struck out 160 times last season and ranked 91st in OBP), $136 million, who am I to scoff at Ned Colletti?
If you thought Kansas City Royals were going to stand pat this offseason, well, think again. The rest of the AL Central is trembling in fear upon learning KC has acquired Johnny Jason LaRue from the Reds for the always popular player to be named later. Bob Dutton says this “adds catching depth” and during a close season when Alberto Castillo finds work, I suppose that makes sense.

As tipped over the weekend, Moises Alou has signed a one-year deal with the Mets, with a club option for 2008. Showing that he didn’t think much of Chunklet’s “Overrated” issue, Omar Minaya has dealt right-handers Henry Owens and Matt Lindstrom to Florida in exchange for lefties Adam Bostick and Jason Vargas (above).