Carlos Pena, one of the better power bats still on the market, signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Chicago Cubs, according to a report on ESPN.com.
Pena hit 28 home runs for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2010, but had an anemic .196 average and struck out 158 times in 484 at-bats.
Apart from giving the Cubs a much needed left-handed bat to complement Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano, Pena’s defense is also renowned in baseball circles. He’s an excellent defensive first baseman, and gives the Cubs the kind of first base talent they lacked down the stretch, after trading away Derek Lee.
Pena has spent time in the Rangers, Tigers and Rays system in his career, and has always had a reputation as a potent, if streaky, slugger.
Pena was instrumental in the Rays 2008 World Series run, and hit 38 homers and drove in 100 runs in 2009.
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