Say Hello to Wily Mo

As has been reported in a number of places, the Mariners have signed Wily Mo Pena to a minor league deal. Pena will report to Tacoma and most likely alternate between the outfield and DH. Make no mistake though, he’s a DH and nothing more unless you want your pitchers to go crazy. He’s one of the few players out there who’ll make Carlos Peguero look like a decent defender.

His bat is a difference story. Pena has tremendous raw power. Filling in for an injured Ken Griffey Jr. back in 2004, Pena hit 26 HR in just 110 games. Not bad for a 22 year old. Pena’s poor glove made it hard for him to get consistent playing time after that, and be bounced around first to Boston, then to Washington, before injuries sapped him of his bat speed in 2008.

He went to the independent league after that, before getting minor league chances with the Mets, Padres and Diamondbacks over the last couple years. Looking at his stats, it’s clear that some of his lost bat speed has returned. Why was her available then? Well, the Diamondbacks called him up for interleague play because they needed someone to DH. He didn’t impress in his limited playing time (a .717 OPS), so he was DFA’ed when a roster spot was needed.

I would guess that once the M’s start parting ways with some of the vets currently on the team, Pena gets called up to be the right handed half of a DH platoon, but that’s just a guess.

One last thing on Pena: I’ve heard from a number of people that he’s an awesome guy. Teammates, fans, and reporters all love him. Very down to Earth and seems to get that he plays a game for a living, and makes a lot of money in doing so. One of many examples comes from over at lookout landing just a few weeks ago. Check it out, it’s a great story.

Year

Age

Tm

G

PA

AB

R

H

2B

HR

RBI

BB

SO

BA

OBP

SLG

OPS

2002

20

CIN

13

18

18

1

4

0

1

1

0

11

.222

.222

.389

.611

2003

21

CIN

80

181

165

20

36

6

5

16

12

53

.218

.283

.358

.641

2004

22

CIN

110

364

336

45

87

10

26

66

22

108

.259

.316

.527

.843

2005

23

CIN

99

335

311

42

79

17

19

51

20

116

.254

.304

.492

.796

2006

24

BOS

84

304

276

36

83

15

11

42

20

90

.301

.349

.489

.838

2007

25

BOS

73

172

156

18

34

9

5

17

14

58

.218

.291

.385

.675

2007

25

WSN

37

145

133

24

39

4

8

22

8

36

.293

.352

.504

.855

2008

26

WSN

64

206

195

10

40

6

2

10

10

48

.205

.243

.267

.509

2011

29

ARI

17

46

46

7

9

0

5

7

0

19

.196

.196

.522

.717