Houston Astros set to sign veteran infielder Carlos Pena- MLB News
It appears that Lance Berkman will not be returning to the Houston Astros as the ball club signed left-handed hitter Carlos Pena in Monday. Pena will most likely be a designated hitter, a position that the Astros will need to fill as they move to the American
League and Berkman was thought to be the top choice up until now for the Astros.
The agreement between Carlos Pena and the Houston Astros was reached sometime on Friday. The terms of the deal, however, have yet not been announced. It is expected to be a single year deal.
Jeff Luhnow, the Astros general manager, is quite pleased with the deal and believes that the lineup will be stronger with the inclusion of Pena. He expects the hitter to add more runs to the scoreboard.
"This one's big," Jeff said. "We needed to get a bat in the lineup that we felt confident and comfortable that was going to produce runs. He's going to make the whole lineup better, lot deeper."
Carlos was pretty clear that he will be just another member of the Houston ball club who will give it his 100% to make sure that the team does well. He wants to do well both on and off the field.
"I'm here to provide my services to be the best I can be. Not only with the bat and glove, I want to make sure I'm also a good teammate and to contribute to having good chemistry in the clubhouse. I'm just one more Astro," he said.
Pena also said that he feels re-energized joining a young team that is looking for a fresh start. He was also excited about playing for the Astros and said that he was immediately attracted to the possibility of being a part of the club’s setup.
Astros have quite a few changes to their setup indeed. They will be moving to the American League from the National League. They will also be playing under a new manager and some new coaches and they will be donning all new uniforms in 2013.
Last year for Pena was far from ideal. He posted a batting average of only .197, well below his career average of .234 but did manage to post a .330 on-base percentage. He had 61 RBI’s and 19 home-runs in the 12th season of his Major League career.
The Dominican was representing the Tampa Bay Rays in 2012.
Carlos Pena is a veteran hitter and has loads of experience in the Major League. He can certainly be a mentor and an inspiration to some of the younger players in the Astros setup and can help the ball club to be more productive offensively. It is certainly
something the Houston ball club needs in the upcoming season to get better results.
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