Is Pie the Man in Center?

December 14, 2006 by cubsnet

The Chicago Tribune's Dave van Dyck on why the Cubs did not make a bid for Kenny Lofton:

Indications are they wanted to have a spot ready for top prospect Felix Pie. If Pie is ready for the big time, the $6 million would have been poorly spent and Lofton would have been unhappy on the bench. If Pie isn't ready, then the problem may be addressed in spring training. The Cubs' options would be to start Angel Pagan in center, or even Jones. And newcomer Alfonso Soriano could play there if Pie seems to be a long way off, which the Cubs don't believe is the case.

After putting up acceptable but not top prospect numbers for much of the year for AAA Iowa (he was hitting .274/.333/.417 as of early August), Pie finished strong, ending his season at .283/.341/.451. Pie will be just 22 in February. I'm not sure he will be ready, but I'm also not opposed to giving him a shot. I can't imagine that he would do any worse than Angel Pagan. If the Cubs do give Pie a shot, and he wins the job in the spring, there is little reason to sign a lefthanded hitting outfielder like Cliff Floyd, unless the Cubs proceed to trade Jacque Jones. Pie would be in CF, Alfonso Soriano in RF, and a platoon of Matt Murton and Jones or Floyd in LF. Pagan and Ryan Theriot would serve as the backup outfielders.

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