Pierre makes Phillies opening day roster

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) -- Juan Pierre has made the Philadelphia Phillies' opening-day roster.

Philadelphia selected the contract of the 34-year-old outfielder from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Thursday after a 2-1 exhibition win over Tampa Bay.

Pierre gets an $800,000 one-year contract and can earn an additional $300,000 in performance bonuses based on plate appearances.

Pierre had agreed in January to a minor league deal that gave him the right to opt out if not put on the big league roster by March 30. After going 2 for 2 Thursday, Pierre was brought into manager Charlie Manuel's office and given the news.

"We definitely feel like Juan can help us," Manuel said. "In the majors, he did a lot of things. Last year was impressive."

Pierre hit .279 in 158 games with the Chicago White Sox last year. He is a .296 hitter in 12 big league seasons with the White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies.

"He's started playing better over the last four or five games," Manuel said of Pierre, who is hitting .313 in 23 games. "I look at where he could fit in some of the lineups we could use, and he's done a little bit of everything in the game. He's been a bench player. ... He's been a regular for a long time. In the last couple of years, he has a lot of at-bats in the big leagues."

Pierre would earn $25,000 each for 200 and 225 plate appearances, and $50,000 apiece for 250, 300, 350, 400 and 250.

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