The Diamondbacks will sign Wily Mo Pena to a minor league deal with an invitation to major league Spring Training, MLBTR has learned. The outfielder drew interest from multiple major league teams, including the Tigers, White Sox and Orioles. He also drew interest from clubs in Japan before signing in Arizona, where he expects to compete for the starting left field job.
Pena's deal is worth $675K, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com, who notes that the Astros also had interest.
The slugger hit 26 home runs and posted an .843 OPS as a 22-year-old on the 2004 Reds. He followed that up with 19 homers in 2005, but his impressive power hasn’t translated into big league homers since. He did post a .324/.390/.556 line with nine home runs in 159 plate appearances in the Padres minor league system this year, so the 28-year-old still has a potent bat.
he still plays baseball?
I believe he played independent ball last year as a showcase before being signed by the Padres.
There goes Justin Upton!
trying to corner the market on strikeouts?
Yup. The Diamond Hacks are at it again!
The heir apparent to Justin Upton.
Could work, could fail, we’ll see. No real risk here.
Wily Mo Pena the next Nelson Cruz?
let’s hope so.
Nelson Cruz can run and has a rocket arm in right field to go with his power bat willy mo has some pop but should not be out near the field
Pena has a decent arm. Just no instincts in the OF.
I love me some Wily Mo Pena! I hope the best for him, he was always an intriguing player, just never seized his limited opportunities.
I still love how this is the player that netted the Reds Arroyo. I wonder if the Red Sox wish they never made that deal.
I do
Yeah, that was a bad one. But it’s also kind of funny because Willy Mo got traded for Chris Carter who ended up getting traded for Billy Wagner who was really solid for us and got us a 1st round pick and a supplemental pick when he declined arb. So, it wasn’t a TOTAL bust.
Don’t worry Mark Reynolds will teach him how to cut down on the Ks…
Man… if he ever gets a hold of it… wham!
You know those ‘you might be a redneck’ jokes. You might be a masochist if you sign Wily Mo Pena. Do you just enjoy needless pain and disappointment?
You know those ‘you might be a redneck’ jokes. You might be a masochist if you sign Wily Mo Pena. Do you just enjoy needless pain and disappointment?
i would have rather seen him in a dodger uniform than johnny damon. load up on a bunch of lf’s like him on minor league deals and let them juke it out
Wily Mo should have went to japan,it would have been hilarious to see.
I almost wish the Sox had tried to work with him a little bit longer rather than giving up so early. Never gave him a ton of consistent playing time. Might work out. I think this is being overblown in some of these comments. Clearly a low risk signing that might work out halfway decent.
The Reds tried to work with him for a few years, and he never proved to be an everyday player. So they flipped him to the Sox for a solid starting pitcher in Arroyo. Easily IMO, one of the top 50 fleecings in terms of talent.
We may have fleeced them in terms of talent, but we took a whole lot of salary with it. Overall it was a good trade for the Reds, but not as good as if you don’t take salary into consideration.
The Reds tried to work with him for a few years, and he never proved to be an everyday player. So they flipped him to the Sox for a solid starting pitcher in Arroyo. Easily IMO, one of the top 50 fleecings in terms of talent.
I thought this was a post from 5 years ago for a minute.
why are people hating on this no/little risk minor league move by towers. Everybody wanted josh brynes gone, then people wanted an experience gm, then people loved towers hiring and what he’ll bring to the dbacks, and now everybody is hating his last couple moves duke, pena, burroughs, etc saying he should be fired or removed. make up your minds you pessimistic dbacks fans. support your team and be optimistic. Also is everybody here an English teacher with a phd becasue im getting the feeling that everybody here is, who gives a s*** on how brainmlb10 types dont you people have better things to do than critique others like go to work, school, etc?
because that’s why we come here. To read what GM’s are doing and critique them.
yeah but dont hate on everything give credit to where credit is deserve and give criticism where criticism is deserved. closed minded people tend to judge before the actual result has actually taken place. everything right now is a wait and see, you never know that a great move in the offseason can be end being worse move of all and vice versa. and i meant critique other people comment’s
Wait one second there pal, can you please point out these “pessimistic dback fans”.. As far as I can tell most dback fans don’t mind any of his minor league signings, in fact I like most of them. And let me tell you why, (optimistic dback fan wow)
1. Zach Duke- If we can sign him to a cheaper contract and basically get him for free he will be a nice fit because if he doesnt work out we can call Paker up and send him into long relief and a lefty (which we need). If he bouncesback then awesome, let Parker develop and enjoy the ride.
2. Willy Mo Pena- >Gerardo Parra, Ryan Church. He has power which is magnified in Chase. I mean $600K isnt that much, so he’s a low risk/high reward.
3. Juan Miranda- Maybe getting out of the lineup jam in NY and getting regular at bats will help him, if not oh well. He could be a nice backup first baseman.
4. Brain Sweeney- Dbacks bullpen last year… nuff said.
The rest i really dont care about except i wasnt a fan of the TWO year deal with Blum, but he will be a nice utility man.
We still got 10MM to spend!! JJ Putz cmon down! (:
GO DBACKS!
from what i have been seeing, yes there has been some closed minded fans, which annoy me to no end. I am excited for the new regime of dback management and it is refreshing to see there are some optimistic like me i.e you (brandon). I dont really care what moves they make as long it makes since and is justifiable. Go DBACKS
from what i have been seeing, yes there has been some closed minded fans, which annoy me to no end. I am excited for the new regime of dback management and it is refreshing to see there are some optimistic like me i.e you (brandon). I dont really care what moves they make as long it makes since and is justifiable. Go DBACKS
wondered what happened to him. this is definently low risk/high reward type deal. ive always liked wily mo. but unfortunatly im a braves fan.
I heard Cincinnati offered Bronson Arroyo for Wily Mo Pena.
I wonder when we might sign Putz.. soon hopefully, cmon Towers go get him!