The Reds have agreed to a two-year contract with catcher Brayan Pena, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com. Pena, who is represented by the Kinzer Management Group, will earn at least $1.25MM in the first year of the deal, though complete financial terms aren't yet available.
Pena, 32 in January, batted .297/.315/.397 with four homers as the primary backup for Detroit's Alex Avila in 2013. A switch-hitter, Pena was significantly better as a left-handed hitter (.801 OPS) than as a right-handed hitter (.608 OPS) — a trend that he's shown throughout his career.
Pena joins incumbent catchers Devin Mesoraco and Ryan Hanigan on Cincinnati's 40-man roster, which figures to be one more catcher than the team needs. Hanigan projects to earn $2.3MM in arbitration next season, so the Reds could look to trade him elsewhere or non-tender him following a season in which he batted .198/.306/.261 — easily the worst numbers of his career. Mesoraco has certainly failed to live up to his lofty prospect status at this point, but he's still just 25 years old and is not yet arbitration eligible, so I'd imagine the Reds don't consider him the odd man out.
