The Rays’ all-time home-run leader, Carlos Pena, is returning to Tampa on a one-year deal.
Carlos Pena On The Rays Makes Sense
Carlos Pena of the Chicago Cubs follows through on a two-run homer in the first inning during the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) Getty ImagesGranted, Kotchman is younger than Pena was when he first broke out, but the former Angels’ prospect never had the raw power of Pena. (Who has averaged 34 homers a year over the last five seasons, despite hitting just .236 in that stretch.) He also doesn’t have the plate patience of Pena, and while Kotchman is a good defensive first baseman, the difference between their gloves doesn’t make up for the difference in bats.
They were equal in that regard in 2011, with Pena’s OPS+ of 123 matching Kotchman’s 128. But that’s Kotchman’s first season above-average since 2007, while Pena has been below just once -- and barely, at 96 -- in his 11-year career. Pena is also more likely to be an above-average first baseman: His True Average, a figure developed by Baseball Prospectus that distills offensive efficiency into one number adjusted for just about everything, has been above that of the average first baseman for five years running. Kotchman’s 2011 campaign was the first time that’s happened to him since 2007 -- see a trend developing here?
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