The Phillies have signed 34-year old lefty swinging outfielder Juan Pierre to a minor league deal. Pierre played in 158 games for the White Sox last year and he was 178 for 639 (.279 avg, .657 OPS) with 80 runs scored, 2 homers, 50 RBIs and 27 stolen bases. He has now played in 1,751 games in his first 12 years in the majors and he is 2,020 of 6,823 (.296 avg, .708 OPS) with 980 runs scored, 16 homers, 484 RBIs and 554 stolen bases. This is a somewhat curious move for the Phillies as Pierre has been a starter his whole major league career. Maybe he will get a shot to compete for the starting job in LF this spring. If nothing else, Pierre would bring outstanding speed and a decent bat to the bench in 2012.

The Phillies have signed 28-year old righty swinging outfielder Brent Clevlen to a minor league deal. He played in 104 games in AAA and Independent ball last year and he was 117 of 386 (.303 avg, .921 OPS) with 67 runs scored, 19 homers, 62 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Clevlen last played in the majors in 2010 with the Braves. He has played in 59 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 18 for 77 (.234 avg, .709 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 3 homers and 7 RBIs. Clevlen is likely going to start the 2012 season in AAA.