The Tampa Bay Rays appear to have filled their gaping hole at first base by bringing back Carlos Pena, who had been an unrestricted free agent and had drawn interest from teams like the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers and Cleveland Indians.
Pena will make $7.25 million from the one-year deal. Pena made $10 million from the Cubs last year in what agent Scott Boras called a “pillow contract,” which would allow him to have a big year at Wrigley Field and then sign a multi-year deal this winter. That didn’t happen.
Pena, 33, hit .225/.357/.462 with 28 home runs for the Cubs last season. He hit just .196 in 2010 for the Rays, but slugged 28 homers and actually had an OPS+ of 103 despite his low batting average. He played for the Rays from 2007-2010, hitting .238/.368/.516 with 144 home runs in his four seasons with the Rays, finishing ninth in MVP voting in his first two seasons with the Rays and making the All-Star team in 2009. Pena is the franchise’s all-time home-run leader. This new deal will give him a chance to extend his 16-homer lead over Aubrey Huff.
Last season Casey Kotchman was the Rays first baseman, and while he hit .306/.378/.422 for Tampa Bay last season, he had just 10 home runs. The addition of Pena would add extra pop to the Rays’ lineup over the free-agent Kotchman.
Even though his best days on defense are behind him, Pena remains a capable defender at first base. As he advances in age, he may also benefit from a day or two a week as a designated hitter. With Luke Scott now in the mix, there could be some job-sharing in order to save the wear-and-tear on both of their mid-30s bodies.
This probably means that the Yankees will now turn to another former Ray – and Yankee – Johnny Damon to fill their hole at DH.
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Tags: MLB MLB Baseball Tampa Bay Rays
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