Now that the Yankees have addressed their pitching issues with two major transactions, the club is looking to add some offense, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Carlos Pena is "now on their radar," and Heyman says the Bronx Bombers could be looking at other hitters as well.
Pena, a Scott Boras client, hit .225/.357/.462 with 28 homers for the Cubs last season. He has been linked the Rays and Indians this winter, though overall it's been a fairly quiet offseason for the free agent slugger due to the presence of Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder in the free agent first base market. If he signed with New York, Pena would become the team's primary designated hitter, with Alex Rodriguez or Andruw Jones getting the occasional start at DH when the Yankees faced a left-hander. The Yankees put in a waiver claim on Pena in August but the Cubs pulled him back.
Isn’t Pena a better fielder than Teixera?
nope
Not by a long shot.
awkward.
Pena is a good defensive player, but Tex is a freaking cat at first base.
Teixeira is one of the best fielding first basemen of this generation. He probably saves the infielders well over 20 errors a season. Plus his glove is like adhesive, he can nab almost any ball hit down the line, or on the 1B side of the hole between 1st and 2nd. He also has a nack for catching foul pop ups closer to the right fielder than catcher.
I’m hearing AJ Burnett for Adam Dunn straight up.
I hope you’re hearing wrong
I would do that deal, especially if we can get the Sox to throw in some cash. $12 mil for Dunn in 2012 vs $16.5 for AJ helps us save some money for 2012. I think Dunn will do better with Kevin Long to help.
id keep him ajs contract is almost up, its easier to get a carlos pena type for dh for now than get dunn for another 3(4?) years/ we dont need that much offense/ while the bs can be called up id rather they not be rushed in case of a pitcher getting hurt and time to time aj can suprise you
Yanks have lots of depth at AAA as Warren, Phelps and Mitchell all pitched the entire 2011 season there. I can’t imagine any of those three couldn’t produce a sub 5 ERA.
I know Dunn was flat out awful last season, but in the Yanks’ lineup and in that park…sheesh. I could see a massive bounceback. Granted, I doubt this would ever happen but I would be on board.
that would be a god awful trade for the yankees
nah i dont think so. burnett has been struggling for 2 years now, dunn only 1. plus burnett makes more $ than dunn. maybe a young player or low end prospect along with burnett will do it, but not straight up. also, if both of them were on their primes, dunn obviously is more valuable than burnett, so again, no.
You’re “hearing” as in you heard this on some fan site from people playing GM.
You’re “hearing” as in you heard this on some fan site from people playing GM.
50 hrs in YS3 with a .200 batting average
He would be a monster pulling balls into right field in Yankee stadium
first they trade a hitter for a pitcher sign another pitcher now they want another hitter! these people need to make up there minds /s/
lol clearly u dont understand what baseball is about
and clearly you dont know what /s/ means
im guessin /s/ means sarcasm lol
Great pickup if they get him. Buy low.
Source liar?
Thumbs up to anyone who 3+ hours ago would have predicted a headline saying the Yankees are looking for hitting.
yeah, that reminds me, I think I put a grilled cheese in the oven about 3 hours ago..
Mte, I was all set to watch a movie and relax tonight. Now all this has taken up quite a lot of my time.
No Bernie Williams! They don’t want you!
I like matsui or damon better easier to sit, and give players half a day off i feel pena would want to play everyday
i wouldnt mind seein one of those two back in pinstripes for a year. Matsui needs to retire where he started. and Damon even at his age is a beast and a big clutch hitter. that was the yanks problem in the post season. guys on base but could not bring them in to score. hopefully long can fix pena. btw wasnt this the same carlos pena that billy beane traded back in 02? may be wrong.
Still available!
Pena’s defense is wasted at DH. He is good in the field. They should sign a more DH only guy like Matsui or Johnny Damon…
Would love Damon back.
Burnett minus 4 million for 2 years and Hughes for Hanley Rimirez.
favorite post of the week.
Try out for the comedy club bro.
I choked on my own tongue after reading this.
wow, u shouldve applied for the gm job the red sox had vacant
I…I…don’t even…
What defense? He’s rated below average replacement player level!
if either of those players were as talented offensively as pena that would make sense. but they aren’t
I think that’s a horrible idea. Matsui and Damon are good guys but their time with the Yanks has passed.
28 hrs and a 16% walk rate? I’ll take that.
That 16% walk rate also comes with like an 80% K rate…
more like 26% but ok? and? his ISO was still top 20 in the majors and in that ballpark and in that lineup he might be better.
Why in the world would Pena’s defense being a negative and make Matsui or Damon a better option? Pena, even with the off year he had, still had a better OPS than either of them, hit more hrs than either of them and had a higher walk % than both combined.
he hits like 70 home runs with a .100 average
There are only a few scenarios that would take off the blow I felt from losing Montero. Carlos Pena, Hideki Matsui, and Johnny Damon are not any of them.
However, these would be somewhat more pleasurable:
1. Sign Cespedes. Swisher DHs
2. Sign Fielder short term.
3. Burnett for Dunn.
Cespedes? You’re really impressed with Youtube videos and jumping over boxes.
Cody Ransom knew how to jump over boxes
Actually, I barely watched 3 minutes of it.
Is this Nelson?
This is why people are annoyed by Yankee fans.
cespedes wasnt he the one who went 0-3 in the DR league the other night? the guy cant even hit a curveball. yeah id pass on him. especially for the contract he wants.
It is no surprise that you are a fan and not a GM when you are judging a player on one game. Alex Avila struck out three times on Opening Day. He must be awful.
i saw Cespedes play in the dominican winter league yesterday and he looks too vulnerable to the slider. He had 4 PA 3 K’s 1 HBP. He struck out 3 times swinging at a slider. I think he needs to go to the minors first.
The Yankees should get prince fielder or Damon or matsui do not mess around with Carlos Pena
Pena is just a cover up to speak to Boras about the real hitter they want. They will be in on Fielder soon.
i wouldnt be surprised if they are. but being in on a guy and actually getting him is two different things.
Damon is 37, that ship has sailed
Why?
Magglio Ordenez and Vlad are still available too……..just saying, rather Pena honestly, but someone with pop.
No… this is stupid. The yankees have plenty of low average big power type hitters, plus it makes so much more sense to just keep the DH spot open for rotating old people.
I was sad to see Montero go, but happy with the moves the Yankees made today. With that in mind, I would rather the Yankees go after Damon on a 1yr. deal than Pena, that is if they’re ONLY looking for offense. Yeah Pena can hit homeruns, but he doesn’t do much more than that. Damon is the better hitter of the 2, and if they’re only looking for offense, why not go back to Damon. The guy is a proven winner and would slot nicely into the DH role for the Yankees this season. He’d also cost less money than Pena would too.
Ya he also gets on base alot more than damon
I like Damon as a person but what’s this reminiscing of 2009 that some of you are feeling?
2011 Damon: .261/.326/.418 w/ 16hrs and a 8% walk rate.
2011 Matsui: .251/.321/.375 w/ 12 hrs and a 10% walk rate.
2011 Pena: .225/.357/.462 w/ 28 hrs and a 17% walk rate.
Pena’s bat avg is a bit lower but .250-.260 isn’t a huge advantage for DamSui. Pena hit the same amount of HRS combined as DamSui. Pena had almost the same walk % as DamSui. On top of that, Pena can actually play a position and be an emergency back up should Tex suffer an injury. Otherwise, we would have to move Swisher to 1B and then have a subpar replacement for Swisher in the OF.
I don’t see Pena getting more than a $8 to $10 mil 1 year deal and despite the lux tax ramifications, I don’t see it as an issue.
They need a PT/FT 3B for the long term. An A-Rod caddy if you will. Who would be available?
Eduardo Nunez. He’s already on the team.
Have a feeling the Yankees have their eyes on the Prince.
i dont know if theyd be willing to pay the luxury tax for one player
if their signing him for one year, the luxury tax would not be an issue. that way prince can go into FA next year with a better year under his belt after hitting at the stadiumm and wont have pujols to compete with in FA lol. could benefit both him and the yankees, the yankees get the power bat and can let him play 1b when tex needs days off, and fielder raises his stock for next off season to get that bigger contract, or could take a trade to another team in the middle of the year.
No matter the amount, I just don’t see him signing someplace for only 1 year
Nah, he’s just blocking the view.
Why not just sign Prince?
Anyhoe, if they refuse to pay Prince’s salary, Derek Lee would be a lot cheaper and just as effective as Pena.
It’s like Cashman just woke up from his hibernation and realized that half the off-season is over.
No I think Cashman used patience and it may have paid off. One of the article says that both teams have been talking about this trade for weeks. I give Cashman credit for waiting the market out and seeing what the alternatives were. he waited out Kuroda and got him for the deal he wanted.
With Fielder possibly signing with the Rangers. Trade for Michael Young.
I thought I heard that the Rangers WON’T SIGN both Darvish AND Fielder. Anyways I would like Prince on a 3 year deal with the Yankees
If Prince is being offered 6 year deal for $22-24 million per year. I don’t see him taking a 3 year deal.
Rangers sign Fielder. Opt not to sign Darvish.
Yankees trade Burnett for Michael Young.
Burnett and Young are both owed $32-33 million for the next two seasons.
Then the Yankees trade A-rod for Longoria and Matt Moore!
rangers wont sign fielder. if fielder signs with anyone itll end up being the nationals. somethings telling me their about to throw a big contract at him. their looking to contend now and fielder is the missing piece.
the rangers wont sign both, but their getting prepared for when they cant sign darvish.
In the event that Rangers do sign Fielder. Young may request trade. Like he did last winter, when the Rangers signed Beltre. Yankees are on his wish list.
Young does have a no-trade clause, but per the Dallas Star-Telegram has given the Rangers a list of eight teams to which he would accept a trade. In addition to the Yankees, they are: St. Louis, Minnesota, Houston, Colorado, San Diego and both teams in Los Angeles.
I think the Rangers would want “real prospects” and the prospects they would want are prospects we probably don’t want to give up for Young. Signing Pena for a 1 year deal is much safer and doesn’t cost us picks or prospects and unless the Rangers want AJ, which they don’t, then it would save us from absorbing Young’s 2/$33 mil owed.
I’d take Vlad over Matsui, Damon, or Pena. Prince would just be over kill. Second thought Pena might be the right fit in Yankee stadium, he could hit 35/100
hmmm ok pena would make sense for the yankees but i still think, now that the yanks have excess pitching, they will trade at least one of their pitchers and another young talented player for a player who can bat for dh
That’s such a waste. Why trade prospects for what will more than likely NOT be a superstar impact bat when you can sign a FA on a 1 year deal?
Give me Johnny Damon any day of the week over Pena…Lets get Johnny back
With Montero gone we need a DH and Johnny is a perfect fit along with being a 5th outfielder…hes got alot of baseball left in him and he thrived at Yankee Stadium.
How does he have a lot of baseball in him? Did you not see his 2011 numbers compared to Pena’s?
Pena cant run…he doesnt hit for average and he wants to play the field.
He doesnt hit in the clutch.Damon will do much better power wise in Yankee Stadium. His offense is on par with Nick Swisher playing in yankee stadium.
Johnny has been doing the DH part time outfiekd thing for a few years now.He’s more suited and adjusted to the role.
pena would not be bad in NYS
I wonder what it would take to get a player like Either, Wright, or Lee for one year. They are all free agents next year.
The way Cashman’s working he will pull a hitter out of nowhere. I do like Pena and Vlad.
Why chase Pena? The Yankees already have a version of Pena in the minors by the name of Jorge Vazquez.
Vazquez doesn’t get on base. All he does is K and hit home runs
If Vazquez is striking out at an alarming 33% and walking at a dismal 6% at AAA then what do you think he’s going to do at the mlb level?
PLEASE have more respect for what an mlb player does vs a minor leaguer. There is ZERO reason to expect Vazquez to out perform , or come close, to what Pena did in 2011.
Yeah, his .200 batting average deserves soooo much respect.
Check Pena’s splits against RH pitchers last year (Which is all he would face as a Yankee in 2012)
link to baseball-reference.com
460 PAs, 373ABs, 21HR, 61RBI, .255Avg, .892 OPS. If he does that as a Yankee Lefty DH that would be perfect.
There’s no way to quantify this, but Pena also crushed at least 12 balls that died on the warning track at Wrigley due to gale force winds blowing straight in.
I could see him hitting 35+ homers a year, getting regular at bats vs righties at the Stadium.
I would not be shocked if Kevin Long didn’t work with him to improve his numbers vs lefties like he did with Granderson last year.
platoon him with Andrew Jones and you wont even have to worry about that
Save the money have Nunez Fill in as 3B, SS, 2B, RF, LF Gardner can play center with nunez in left everyone stays fresh and nunez is an everyday player
They didn’t sign Pena (yet) and as it says they are looking at other hitters.
Except they got a better player in return for that supposed “masher” and they won’t be signing Pena to a long term deal.
traded young masher for young possible front of rotation starter who doesn’t cost anything and then sign a 25 -30 hr guy with a 16% walk rate to a 1 year deal. = The right way.
You’re reducing this to make it seem like it’s another Buhner for Ken Phelps scenario and it isn’t. In fact……maybe this is the M’s way of saying “we owe you one”. But I imagine Montero is going to be a beast as well. Hopefully, Pineda will make losing Montero forgettable.
2000 Yankee way would be signing Prince to a 10yr 200mil contract to DH. If this is true, it’s probably a 1yr deal.
Maybe… HELL NO!!! Nunez alone is way more valuable than Soriano and his bad knees
Why? Did Soriano finally learn to hit a slider off the plate?
actually signing prince to a 1 yr deal would benefit both the yanks and fielder. Fielder could hit more homeruns maybe break bonds record while hitting at the stadium, (ok exagerating alittle but its possible) and drive his stock up for next years FA period, and could help the yanks by filling that DH hole and he could fill in for tex on tex days off. put him either in the 3rd spot arod in the 6th spot cano in the 4th spot and tex in the 5th spot. but its wishful thinking and wont happen.
Nunez is a bench player. and arods track record he will be hurt again before all star break. but his horrible defense the yankees should try to trade him to atlanta for with hughes for JJ and Prado haha * sarcasm *
Nunez is not in the minors. He is on the active roster and had 309 ABs last year.
I agree…if Nunez can ever polish himself defensively his value to the Yankees is off the charts…The kid can hit…he can steal bases and occasionally wow you by making a great play in the field
the trade was not just a “now” move its also a huge future move unlike kuroda’s signing…
Only if he is swinging a 48 inch bat/ pitching wedge this year.
I’m gonna go get the papers, get the papers.
Pena would fit in well because he
– is very similar with the AL East
– would hit a lot of home runs DH
ing against right handers only
– could give Tex a day off without losing much defensively
– would sign a 1 year deal, without breaking the bank
Unless I’m forgetting something, he seems like a great fit.
How am I overreacting? I’m simply showing you how you are completely missing the point of the whole “acquiring a potential ace” for Montero and then looking to sign Pena to a 1 year deal to replace Montero’s bat until they find more long term solutions.
I hate talking to irrational ppl. Even when you make sense it’s “woosh” ..over their heads.
The way the playoff system is set up, the winner of the series has become random. The team that gets hot at the end of the year wins, not the best team. The Yanks have been successfull because they always make the playoffs unlike the Sox who missed out the last 2 years. Nobody thought the Cards or Giants were the best teams the last 2 years.
The way the playoff system is set up, the winner of the series has become random. The team that gets hot at the end of the year wins, not the best team. The Yanks have been successfull because they always make the playoffs unlike the Sox who missed out the last 2 years. Nobody thought the Cards or Giants were the best teams the last 2 years.