Marlins ship Pierre to Cubs as part of trade

DALLAS -- The Florida Marlins likely finished their salary purge on Wednesday, sending center fielder Juan Pierre to the Chicago Cubs for right-hander Sergio Mitre and Double-A pitchers Ricky Nolasco and Renyel Pinto.\nThe only high-priced players remaining on the Marlins roster are 22-game winner Dontrelle Willis and slugger Miguel Cabrera. Pierre is eligible for salary arbitration and expected to make $5 million to $6 million in 2006.\nThe 28-year-old Pierre batted .276 with 181 hits, 96 runs and 57 stolen bases last season. He gives the Cubs the leadoff hitter they lacked in 2005, when they finished fourth, 21 games behind the Cardinals, with a 79-83 record that was their first losing season in three years.\n"He puts pressure on the opposition," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said. "He brings a different dimension to our lineup so we can play small ball and set up the guys behind him to play long ball as well."\nWith his speed and left-handed bat, the Cubs had hoped Corey Patterson would develop into a leadoff hitter. But the third overall pick in the 1998 amateur draft was a bust at the top of the order, and was even sent back to Triple-A Iowa for more seasoning.\nHe hit just .215 last year with 118 strikeouts, and his on-base percentage was only .254. He didn't have much luck bunting, either.\n"It was a priority," general manager Jim Hendry said. "There's a lot of clubs just lacking that bona fide leadoff hitter. We knew the competition was very tough.