Carlos Pena?

MLB Trade Rumors and a number of other sources report the Cubs are interested in signing free agent Carlos Pena to play first base. I sure hope this isn't true. I mean, how can you even think Pena improves this team. Pena is 32 years old. He moped around the league for six or seven years before he signed with Tampa and had a break out season in 2007. Since then his production has steadily declined, reaching its nadir last season when he batted .196 and struck out once in every three ABs. Sure he's good for 30 HRs and plays well defensively, but this is just the sort of signing that is likely to drive Cubs fans crazy, myself included. These numbers over the past several seasons indicate a player who had a couple of good years but whose bat is slowing down or a player who had a good run but whose weaknesses have been exposed.

In contrast, the Cubs, should they be unable to unearth a suitable candidate, might just discover that they already have Carlos Pena in the person of Tyler Colvin. Colvin hit 8 fewer HRs in 2010 than Pena in roughly 100 fewer ABs. He stuck out around once in every four ABs. He didn't walk as often as Pena, but then his OBP was about the same because his BA was nearly 60 points higher.

So playing every day, assuming he can learn the new position, Colvin brings comparable production at a fraction of the cost. After all, this will be his second big league season, so he is working for the minimum wage. Pena costs you $5 million. Colvin is 24 years old, so there is way more upside to this player.

Go figure. But then again the Cubs brain trust is led by Jim Hendry. So go figure again. Everyone seems to think the free agent market for first basemen in heavy this year, and it is until you look at the quality. Adam Dunn is the only legitimate star among the lot and he has serious limitations as a player, besides being expensive. Everybody else is washed up. Next year's crop is the big one, potentially including Fielder, Pujols, and Gonzalez. The Cubs have no chance to grab the first two, but they might just be able to match up with the Padres to get Gonzalez in a trade before free agency. He should be their goal, and if they can't land him, well, that's that. They can do a lot better than Pena, that's for sure.