Could he still become a regular?

If you look at the two seasons in which he played the most — 2009 and 2010 — you have a player who is slightly below the league average in overall offensive production, with good range in the outfield (enough to play a good center field) but a questionable arm. Offensively, his production is depressed by his willingness to swing at everything. He’s not good enough to beat out anyone else for a job, but if he got lucky and (1) got a chance to play because of injury or slump and (2) played very well at the the start he could stay for the year. I think the holes in his game will prevent him from being a long-term regular.

He’s a left-handed hitter, and can play a passable center field, has some power, some ability to hit for average, and some speed. That’s a good start. But he doesn’t do anything really well, so he’s not a tactical in-game weapon. He’s still a nice guy to have on the bench.

The Orioles tried to outright him off their 40-man roster, but Pie elected free agency and signed with the Indians for 2012.

Did the Cubs ruin him, the way they ruined Corey Patterson?

Pie wasn’t quite as good a prospect/player as Patterson, who had more power. But Pie was still a good prospect, a consistent .290-level hitter with line-drive power (and substandard strike-zone judgment.) While it’s tempting to say that the Cubs rushed him to the majors, it’s hard to say that he was accomplishing anything in the minors. It’s probably fairer to say that the Cubs promoted him at a time when they couldn’t live with the learning curve, and then gave up on him.