Carlos Pena is back in a Rays uniform. He had most of his best years with the team and now he’ll be back at first base for the Rays. He’ll make $7.25 million. It’s hard to believe he’s only 33 because it seems like he’s been around forever.
I like the one year deal because it makes it very low risk. His best season is a few years behind him when he had a 1.037 OPS in 2007 but he’s had an OPS+ over 120 in four of the past five seasons. Last year with the Cubs, he hit 28 home runs but like usual, he hit just .225. He did draw more then 100 walks for the second time in his career though.
Durability can be an issue but his 153 games last year were the most of his career. He usually good for around 140 games though so if he can produce, he’s good. His defense has diminished the past few years so we’ll see if he can continue to handle first base as well as he has in the past.
