Juan Gone - Pierre off to the White Sox

Juan Pierre has finally gotten his wish: a starting outfield role on a new team.

The Dodgers made their first big move of the winter by sending Pierre to the White Sox for two players to be named later. The players will be named on or before January 7.

Pierre has two years and $18.5 million remaining on his existing contract. The Sox will pick up $3 million this upcoming season and $5 million the next one. The Dodgers assume the remaining $10.5 million.

Still, freeing up $8 million for a fourth outfielder is not a bad deal for a team that is trying to save some bucks. Whether Ned Colletti will admit that or not, that's exactly what's happening here. Yes, Pierre has been on the trading block ever since Manny Ramirez came aboard, but with the McCourts going through a divorce, now was the time to make a move.

The names in the deal haven't been completely confirmed, but they're rumored to be minor league starter John Ely and reliever Jon Link.

Ely looks to be the stud of the two. At Double-A Birmingham last season, he went a whopping 14-2 with a 2.82 ERA in 156.1 innings. Link was at Triple-A Charlotte last season, and he put together a 3.99 ERA in 56.1 innings while striking out 66.

So while the arms that are supposedly on their way look to be pretty good, I'll actually miss Pierre. Look, we all had our turn poking fun at him when he first came. Just look at my old posts from a couple seasons ago, and I have plenty of "Juan for Five" references. But that tune changed last season.

None of us should forget the great effort he put forth starting all 50 games of Manny's suspension. He finished the season with a .308 average and 30 stolen bases. This from a guy that only started 76 games.

I won't miss his rubber arm on defense, though. His lollipop throws to the infield were hard to watch. But when he got on base, he wreaked havoc with his speed like few others can.

With Pierre out of the fold, the Dodgers will need someone else to play the fourth outfield spot and spell Manny. Jason Repko and Xavier Paul are two names that come to mind right away. Maybe more moves will come.