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Carlos Pena

Discussion: Carlos Pena

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As the 2009-2010 offseason draws to a close, Hot Stove junkies are already looking ahead to next offseason's free agent market. One of the biggest names slated to hit the market is Carl Crawford of Tampa Bay, but he's not the only big name Ray scheduled to become a free agent. Carlos Pena, the team's first baseman since signing a minor league deal back in 2007, will also hit the open market.

The 31-year-old Pena will earn $10.125MM in 2010 as part of the three-year deal he signed back in 2008, making him the highest paid player on the team. Tampa's payroll is slated to drop below the $60MM mark in 2011, which makes it unlikely that Pena will be back in a Rays' uniform next season. The team that loses out on a potential Adrian Gonzalez bidding war could turn to Pena, who provides similar qualities as a patient (.382 OBP over the last three years), power bat (.553 SLG) from the left side with solid defense (+1.3 UZR) at first. 

What do MLBTR's readers think is in store for Pena this season? Will Tampa Bay make him available if they fall out of the race? Or perhaps trade him even if they are in it just to get something in return as opposed to letting him walk as a free agent? What kind of contract could he be looking at after the season?

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Rolen, Sweeney, Twins

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On this date in 1990, the Tigers signed free agent Cecil Fielder after he hit 38 homers as a member of the Hanshin Tigers the year before. Fielder went on to lead the league with 130 HR and 389 RBI over the next three years, landing a five-year, $36MM contract that made him the then-second-highest paid player in baseball history behind Barry Bonds. Believe it or not, Prince is already more than halfway to his father's career total of 319 homers despite having fewer than half as many plate appearances.

Let's see what's being written around the baseball blogosphere…

  • The Phrontiersman goes back in time to see how things would have played out for the Phillies if Scott Rolen signed a contract extension and was never traded away.
  • DRays Bay wonders if Matt Sweeney could take over first base for the Rays if Carlos Pena leaves as a free agent after 2010. Sweeney was acquired in the Scott Kazmir trade.
  • Fack Youk compares Vladimir Guerrero to Hideki Matsui to Nick Johnson, the three biggest DH signings of the offseason.
  • Lookout Landing says the Mariners did just fine to acquire Casey Kotchman, even though Adam LaRoche agreed to a relatively cheap deal yesterday.
  • Meanwhile, Jorge Says No! thinks the Mets may have made a mistake by not signing LaRoche.
  • Nick's Twins Blog wonders if Michael Cuddyer or Joe Nathan could be expendable as Minnesota's estimated payroll will approach nine-figures in 2011.
  • AdamAdkins.net thinks the Tigers will regret signing Jose Valverde.
  • Pinstripes Published takes a look at the market for Johnny Damon, or lack thereof.
  • TurnTwo looks at all the movement going on with the Giants' defensive alignment.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Boras Speaks

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We'll add some links from Scott Boras' lobby chat in this post, though from what I can tell he didn't say anything interesting.  We'll keep this a tweet-free post.

  • Boras busted out his famous books, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com.
  • Boras thinks Matt Holliday is a "different" kind of player than Jason Bay, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Of course it's Boras' job to distinguish between Holliday and Bay, so we should expect comments like this.
  • EPSN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports that Boras compared Holliday's production to Mark Teixeira's.
  • The Rays haven't discussed a contract extension for Carlos Pena, who's entering the last year of his contract, according to MLB.com's Bill Chastain.
  • WEEI's Rob Bradford has Boras talking about Matt Holliday and Adrian Beltre, where Boras compares Beltre's offensive ability to Jason Bay's.
  • Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News has Boras saying five or six teams are interested in Beltre, including the Mariners.  Boras said some teams (many have speculated the Red Sox) would move their third baseman for Beltre. 
  • Baggarly quotes Boras as saying "There are teams that have interest [in Holliday] and don’t want to let anyone to truly know."  Boras assumes the Giants are interested in Holliday.
  • Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News has Boras explaining why the Mets can afford Holliday.
  • Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has Boras saying that the Cardinals retaining Holliday is like keeping two players, since it will help them sign Albert Pujols.
  • Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun has Boras saying the Kevin Millwood trade is not done, but they're having discussions.

Morning Links: Red Sox, Phillies, Rays

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Plenty to absorb this morning, baseball fans:

Stark On Lackey, Rays, Jeter

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More from Jayson Stark's Rumblings and Grumblings column at ESPN.com…

  • One of Stark's sources says the Angels' acquisition of Scott Kazmir is not linked to John Lackey's future.  Lackey is said to have dropped his price from the C.C. Sabathia range ($161MM over seven years) to A.J. Burnett money ($82.5MM over five years) due to his recent injury history.  The Angels will attempt to re-sign Lackey, but they have their limit.  Stark's suggestion that Lackey had a "Sabathia-esque" price tag in Spring Training runs counter to Mike DiGiovanna's report that the pitcher wanted Burnett money at that time.
  • Stark feels that the Rays' trade of Kazmir will help them allocate money toward retaining Carl Crawford and/or Carlos Pena.  Crawford's 2010 club option is worth between $10-11.5MM.  Pena is signed at $10.125MM for '10 and is represented by Scott Boras.  One positive: the slugging first baseman inked a below-market deal in January of '08.
  • Derek Jeter is not talking about his next contract, but Stark feels the Yankees will take care of him.  They may wait until after next season, when Jeter finishes his current deal.
  • Rockies manager Jim Tracy is familiar with Brad Penny, and his opinion might have caused the team to back off.  And the Yankees cooled Jon Garland because they didn't see him as a difference-maker in the AL East.
  • The Marlins were in on Mike Cameron, but the Brewers decided to keep their players and win as many games as possible.
  • The White Sox "wanted something good" for Jermaine Dye, according to one Stark source.  He would not have been as easy to pry away as Jim Thome and Jose Contreras were.
  • A couple of sources are skeptical that the Red Sox will shop closer Jonathan Papelbon this winter.
  • Stark notes that only two players – Ryan Franklin and David Eckstein – signed extensions in-season.  These days it makes more sense to talk during the exclusive negotiation period after the season.  Plus, there were many bargains to be had on the free agent market last offseason.

Rosenthal On Competing In The AL East

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When you're in the same division as the Yankees and Red Sox, you only have so many chances to win. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports presents the long-term strategies the Rays and Jays are likely to adopt as they try to compete with their richer division rivals:

  • Rosenthal says the Rays would likely trade Carl Crawford if they were in another division.
  • They'll listen to offers for him this offseason, but they may decide they need to capitalize on their chance to win now and hold onto Crawford, even if it means they only obtain compensation picks in return.
  • Like Crawford, Carlos Pena will be a tough sign when he hits free agency after the 2010 season.
  • The Rays were serious about their pursuit of Roy Halladay, Victor Martinez and Cliff Lee because they sense that they can win now.

The Blue Jays, will likely build for the future around their young pitching, plus Adam Lind, Aaron Hill and Travis Snider.

  • Rosenthal expects the Jays to trade Roy Halladay after the season.
  • He doesn't expect them to re-sign Marco Scutaro (a likely Type A free agent) or Rod Barajas (a likely Type B free agent). Instead they can take compensation picks in next year's draft.

Rays, Red Sox Talking Blockbusters With Tribe

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4:33pm: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hear that the Rays may be shying away from a blockbuster deal. They're 5.0 games behind Boston in the Wild Card race, so their next two games against the Yankees could determine the team's direction.

If the Rays are discouraged after the Yankees series, they could make Dan Wheeler, Chad Bradford, Grant Balfour, Joe Nelson and Lance Cormier available, according to the FOX Sports source.

12:59pm: The Rays have shopped Scott Kazmir to the Mets and Rangers, according to Joel Sherman. The Rangers turned down an offer from the Rays and the Mets just had initial interest. The Rays would consider dealing Kazmir, Carlos Pena and even Carl Crawford to free up enough salary to make a blockbuster deal for Martinez and Lee.

The Rays still have interest in Halladay.

TUESDAY, 11:16am: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has more dish on the idea of a team acquiring both Lee and V-Mart in a blockbuster trade.  The idea has been considered in Cleveland but is considered very unlikely due to the magnitude of prospects required.  While the Red Sox could technically pull it off, the Rays wouldn't have the payroll space.

MONDAY, 4:35pm: Ed Price of AOL FanHouse hears the Rays are still "in on" V-Mart and Lee. There's still a chance that they'll trade Scott Kazmir to the Angels, too.

1:35pm: The Rays and Red Sox are each discussing blockbuster deals with the Indians for both Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Here are the details and the rest of Sherman's rumors:

  • The Rays would deal Wade Davis, but the Red Sox are hesitant to deal Clay Buchholz.
  • The Phillies, Brewers and Rangers have interest in Lee and the Giants have interest in V-Mart.  
  • One executive is "1,000%" confident the Indians will move Lee and Martinez to free up money.
  • An AL executive says the Phillies will acquire Lee, Roy Halladay or Jarrod Washburn by Friday afternoon.
  • The Padres may be more willing to deal Heath Bell than expected. As one official says, Bell will be an expensive closer on a bad team if the Padres don't trade him.   
  • The Yankees have been interested in Bell, whose value is higher than ever. 

Odds & Ends: Gregerson, Hanley, Strasburg

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Links for Monday…

Odds and Ends: Phillies and Rays

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A few notes regarding the Phillies and the Rays, since this is all anyone is talking about today:

  • Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer notes that arbitration-eligible Ryan Madson could be in for a nice raise this winter.
  • The Biz of Baseball ranked all 30 teams by marginal payroll/marginal win. I’ll let them explain the mathematical details, but unsurprisingly, the Rays win by a healthy margin.
  • Howard Bryant discusses Carlos Pena’s success with Tampa and how he resisted requests to change his hitting approach while he was struggling with Texas, Oakland, Detroit, New York, and Boston.
  • A lot of writers published stories today on tonight’s scheduled starter for Philadelphia, Jamie Moyer, but  Amalie Benajmin in the Boston Globe does an especially nice job following his long, circuitous career.
  • And finally, this headline appeared in today’s Newsday: Mets Deeply Regret Letting Kazmir Go To Rays.

Sarah Green writes for Umpbump.com and the Boston Metro.

Odds and Ends: Yankees, Pena, Epstein

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Let’s round ’em up for Friday…

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