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According to ESPN, the Toronto Blue Jays are trying hard to sign slugging first baseman Carlos Pena to a contract.

The Blue Jays are without a first baseman, as Lyle Overbay became a free agent. The Jays were not interested in his services, so they passed on re-signing him.

The Jays, who were the most powerful extra-base-hitting team last season, appear to want to just keep adding to the power that gave them so much success last season.

Offensively, the Jays were an up and down club last season. When the bats were clicking, the Jays would score runs in droves, but when the bats cooled down, the club struggled mightily to score runs.

Adding Pena, quite possibly the best power-hitting first baseman available on the free agent wire, would give the Jays a lethal left/right combination in the middle of the lineup with Jose Bautista.

Pena last season hit a paltry .196 in 582 at-bats with 28 home runs and 84 runs batted in. That’s a down year for anyone, but for Pena, it was especially bad.

The Jays, if they sign him, will be taking a risk that last year’s poor performance was just a fluke. Last season was the first in the last four seasons that Pena did not reach at least 30 home runs and 100 runs batted in for a season.

Carlos started to regain some magic in the playoffs in 14 at-bats, hitting .286 with a home run and four runs batted in to go along with an OPS of 1.126.

In years previous, Pena’s numbers were astronomical from the first base position. Having hit 31, 39 and 46 home runs the last three seasons, Pena is obviously a very potent power threat.

Talk before today revolved around whether Adam Lind could man first base, but it looks like the confidence in that proposition is fading fast, and Lind will be back to his LF/DH duties if Pena is indeed signed.

Thoughts on adding Carlos Pena to the roster?

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The Baltimore Orioles have sent relievers David Hernandez and Kam Mickolio to the Arizona Diamondbacks for their slugging, strikeout-prone third baseman Mark Reynolds.

Even though it happened only a couple hours ago, every Orioles fan knows that by now.

Reynolds is a legitimate, right-handed power bat, having hit 32 homers last season, and 44 in 2009.

But he strikes out a lot. In fact, more often than anyone else in history, being the only player to strike out over 200 times in a season.

He’s done that the past three years.

He also hit .198 last year, but did have a .320 on-base percentage.

Knowing that, the Orioles front office now should focus on adding a solid bat.

By solid, I mean someone who can put up good power numbers with at least a decent average. Someone named Adam LaRoche.

I’ve seen some fans calling for the signing of Carlos Pena since this deal has happened, and I can understand that. The O’s need a first baseman, and Pena is a guy who plays a good first, is a leader in the clubhouse, and can hit the ball far.

Pena is also the same kind of hitter that Reynolds is—a guy who hits a homer or strikes out.

Pena has seen his average drop every year since his stellar 2007 season when he hit .282 with 46 homers and 121 runs batted in.

This past year, he put up a .196 average, but did have an OBP of .325.

Comparing power numbers between Pena and Reynolds, Pena put out 28 balls in 2010 while Reynolds smacked 32.

Pena drove in 84 runs; Reynolds tallied 85.

And while Pena stuck out 158 times compared to Reynolds ridiculous total of 211, you can see the similarities in the hitters pretty obviously.

Pena is almost a left-handed version of Reynolds, or vice-versa, when at the plate.

The O’s lineup doesn’t need another hitter like that.

They need someone who has been consistent, someone who the manager, coaches, and hitters batting around him know what he’s going to put up. Adam LaRoche is that guy.

While he won’t put up monster power numbers like Pena, LaRoche has managed to hit at least 20 homers in every season of his seven-year career except his rookie campaign, a year in which he hit 13 bombs in 324 at-bats, as well as driving in at least 78 runs every year besides his rookie year.

In 2010, he put up a line of .261/25/100, and his .320 OBP is identical to Reynolds’ and just five points lower than Pena’s.

He did strike out 172 times, but he had a much higher batting average.

Many fans point to the hitting coach in Tampa Bay as the reason why Pena’s average has dropped so much each year since 2007, and maybe a change of scenery combined with the help of manager Buck Showalter and hitting coach Jim Presley can help Pena return to form a bit.

But that’s just a maybe.

LaRoche has bounced around a bit in his career, and he has hit everywhere.

He’s a guy who the O’s would know what they’re going to get from at the plate, as well as a good glove defensively and a respected clubhouse member.

He would help add balance to an Orioles’ lineup that needs it even more so after the acquisition of Reynolds.

Like always, I could be wrong.

Pena could bounce back and be great for the Orioles if they were to sign him, or another team.

Obviously, both players have their drawbacks, but personally I feel that it’s more important for the O’s to grab a known commodity in LaRoche as opposed to another player who could mash the ball with a Reynolds-like batting average.

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Baseball is a unique sport for a lot of different reasons.

One of them is payroll. Unlike the NBA, NFL and NHL, there isn’t a salary cap in MLB.

That’s the main reason the Yankees and Red Sox are able to compete every year while the Pirates are close to 20 years of consecutive losing seasons.

Traditional big spenders like the Angels and the Tigers are going to have some money to blow. But there are some traditionally cheap teams looking to dish out some dough as well. Don’t sleep on the Orioles, Nationals and A’s to make a splash in free agency.

Here is the rankings on how much money teams have for free agency this off-season.

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It’s no surprise that the Chicago Cubs are looking for an everyday starter at 1st base, especially after they lost Derrek Lee in a trade.

They also lost Micah Hoffpauir after he signed with the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan. Hoffpauir was the front runner for the starting job.

But also adding to this, the Cubs have not won a World Series in over 100 years, making them more desperate to acquire a dependable bat.

There are many candidates for the job, with a good free agent market at 1st base this offseason. But here are the closest possibilities.

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So Alex Anthopoulos has found a manager in John Farrell.

Now he has to continue upgrading his team through trades and free agency.

The first thing to note is that it is highly unlikely Anthopoulos signs a Type A free agent. This is because his first-round pick is not protected, and that is what he would have to give up to sign them.

So Manny Ramirez is out of the question.

The second thing is that Anthopoulos has stated he is willing to go after Type A free agents if the price is right. I understand this, but it is highly unlikely that will happen.

Type A free agents almost always get big money. If they are not worth a lot of money, then teams would not want to give up the draft pick, either.

As a result, I see them targeting players that are not on the Type A free-agent list.

The needs of this team are not as great as some would perceive.

One upgrade needed would be catcher. This is because John Buck has already signed with the Florida Marlins (who snubbed Toronto in the Dan Uggla trade), and so we need a starting catcher.

We have a quality backup in Jose Molina, so some say we should just get JP Arencibia to start. But it is quite risky to throw a stud prospect into the fire immediately.

Also, Anthopoulos has stated that catcher and shortstop are the two most important positions. As a result, expect Anthopoulos to address the catcher position.

Another area he needs to address is the bullpen. This is the place the Blue Jays are losing the most players from.

Jason Frasor, Scott Downs and Kevin Gregg need to be replaced. That is going to cost a lot of money.

Then there is the infield. The Blue Jays need to address the first base position.

Lyle Overbay is most likely not coming back, so they need a starter there. Brett Wallace, who was supposed to be his heir, was dealt for Anthony Gose.

They also need a third baseman, as they released last year’s starter in Edwin Encarnacion.

Another option to fill third base is to get a second baseman and move Aaron Hill to the hot corner. I would not recommend it, as Hill has been outstanding at second base.

He can also get an outfielder and put Bautista at third base, but that seems a bad idea as well because Bautista is excellent in right field.

Also Anthopoulos loves to stockpile starting pitchers. We saw this in the draft, as he kept picking pitcher after pitcher in the first two rounds, picking five in all.

So these are the needs. Now let’s get to the players he should target.

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Most of the Hot Stove headlines in Major League Baseball will go to the big-ticket free agents that have landed on the open market. Prudent teams, however, can often make major improvements to their rosters by targeting less-heralded players in free agency.

Given the big-money nature of MLB salaries in the 21st century, it’s hard to argue that any free agent signing is a true bargain, but when looking at players from a cost-to-production perspective, second-tier free agents can frequently pay big dividends.

While the focus will undoubtedly be on the negotiations teams hold with Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, Jayson Werth and Adam Dunn, there are a myriad of other options more cost-conscious teams should explore during this 2010 free agent season.

Here I’ll go through 20 players who will fly under the Hot Stove radar, but could be bargain producers for teams in the 2011 season. This only covers a subjective sampling on my part, but be sure to chime in if you think a potential bargain signing was overlooked.

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Every offseason the free-agent class is headlined by a small group of big-name players. In 2008, CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira were the big names. Last year, it was probably John Lackey. In 2010, Cliff Lee is undoubtedly the biggest fish in a very, very small pond.

The problem is, players of this ilk command huge salaries and usually end up on big-market teams like the Yankees, Red Sox and Mets. The most interesting part of free agency is to be found when one looks past the big names at bargain players—those whom people had forgotten about.

Even when looking at the underrated players on the market, this year’s free-agent class is still poor.

Not to kill the suspense but, no, Cliff Lee will not be appearing on this list.

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As a diehard Rays fan, last night’s Game 5 loss hurt especially hard.  Yes, it was an elimination game that ended what I thought would be a season ending with the World Series coming to Tampa.  

But it also means the likely end to 1B Carlos Pena, LF Carlos Crawford and closer Rafael Soriano.

Crawford—the heart and face of the franchise for the past nine seasons, will likely (and rightfully so) seek greener pastures next season.  But contrary to popular belief, the Rays will be just fine come next season. 

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The earliest of Sunday’s three MLB Division Series matchups will be between the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays, after Tampa notched a comeback win in Game 3 of the ALDS. Trailing 2-1 entering the eighth inning, the Rays got big hits from (among others) Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena en route to a season-saving win.

Game 4 on Sunday will pit two disappointing young starters, Texas’s Tommy Hunter and Tampa Bay’s Wade Davis. Though each posted decent numbers in traditional statistical categories (Hunter went 13-4 with an ERA south of 4.00, while Davis finished at 12-10 and had a 4.07 ERA), neither man was especially impressive.

Davis had just 1.82 strikeouts per walk issued, a pedestrian figure, and gave up 24 home runs. Hunter surrendered 22 bombs in only 133 innings, and struck out fewer than five per nine innings. In fielder-independent ERA (FIP), each ranked among the 20 worst hurlers in baseball with 120 or more innings pitched according to FanGraphs.

The season may hang in the balance for each squad. Tampa’s season would end with a loss, but the Rangers (51-30 at home this season) can hardly afford a defeat that would send the ALDS back to Tampa Bay for a decisive fifth contest.

In an ideal world, each manager would send out his ace for such a crucial game, but both David Price and Cliff Lee are being held in reserve for a potential Game 5 start on long rather than short rest.

Therefore, Davis and Hunter will take the mound Sunday, and the game will likely be decided by the teams’ respective offenses.

That makes for a highly unpredictable outcome in Game 4. Neither team has an offensive attack that can be fairly labeled as consistent (witness the Rays falling victim to two perfect games in two years, and the Rangers’ 59 games with three or fewer runs scored), yet each has explosive potential with batters (Texas’s Nelson Cruz and Josh Hamilton, Tampa Bay’s Carl Crawford, and Evan Longoria) capable of hurting an opposing hurler in myriad ways.

Carlos Pena Ain’t Dead Yet

One key advantage for Tampa Bay is that first baseman Carlos Pena responded excellently to being benched in Game 2, notching two hits and three RBI on Saturday night. Pena had struck out three times and walked once in the opening contest of the Series, and manager Joe Maddon elected to start Desmond Jennings in Game 2, moving Ben Zobrist in from right field to first base and bumping Pena from the lineup.

Pena, who batted just .196/.325/.407 this season and struck out 158 times, could well have pouted over being relegated to the pine. Since the start of 2008, Pena’s 98 home runs are good enough for ninth in baseball. Instead, the notoriously easy-going left-handed swinger took the temporary demotion in stride, and had the key game-tying single for Tampa in the top of the eighth inning on Saturday. He then cracked a two-run home run in the ninth to put the game out of reach.

Pena is unlikely to return to the Rays next season, given the team’s well-publicized designs on payroll reduction and his $10.125 million salary for 2010. How much longer Pena remains a Ray, then, may hinge upon how well he hits in Sunday’s contest with Hunter, against whom he is 3-for-10 lifetime with two doubles and a home run.

The Impaler Cometh

Vladimir Guerrero signed with the Texas Rangers this winter in a generally unheralded move. Guerrero was coming off his worst big-league season, having failed to reach 20 home runs, bat at least .300, and slug at least .520 for the first time in more than a decade.

The 2010 season has marked a modest renaissance for the future Hall of Famer, once a cat-like outfielder but now relegated to designated hitter duty. Guerrero batted .300/.345/.496 for the season, swatting 29 home runs and driving in 115 runs for the Rangers.

Guerrero is just 35, but with a mutual option on the table for next season and big raises due to Hamilton, Cruz, and others, Texas may be forced to address other needs this winter. Cliff Lee would command a huge sum to stay in Texas, while the Rangers must also shore up their bench: Jeff Francoeur, Bengie Molina, and Cristian Guzman all are free agents at season’s end. Guerrero’s primary suitors if he left Texas would include non-contenders like the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox.

If this is the swan song for Guerrero’s playoff career, expect him to go out with a bang. The slugging Dominican is one of his generation’s underrated superstars, a .320/.383/.563 career hitter who could well reach 500 home runs. In his five previous trips to the postseason, however, Guerrero has slugged just .375 with two home runs, and his team has never reached the World Series.

Texas needs its cleanup-hitting slasher to come through in a big way sometime over the next two games if they hope to advance further into these playoffs, as the organization has never won a playoff Series of any stripe.

A Battle of Wits

By the end of Game 4, expect to see both skippers empty their benches and bullpens. Both Maddon and Texas manager Ron Washington have made frequent use of pitching changes and pinch-hitters during the ALDS, taking advantage of two of the league’s deepest benches.

For Maddon, this sort of chess match is a comfortable setting. No junior-circuit team deployed more pinch-hitters than the Rays this season, and overall, only the Yankees had the platoon advantage more often at the plate than did Tampa Bay.

Washington spent much of the regular season forgoing such micro-management: the Rangers used narrowly more than half as many pinch-hitters as Tampa Bay, and had the platoon advantage less often than all but one AL team, the Toronto Blue Jays. Intriguingly, though, Washington used his substitutes in more important situations than all but one other manager, with an average leverage of 2.12 in pinch-hit at bats: Tampa registered a league-low 1.19 leverage.

On the pitching side of the ledger, Maddon and Washington have much more convergent styles. The two men made more pitching changes than any other American League managers, and were less hesitant to go to relievers who had been used the previous day than any other skippers.

Again, Maddon somewhat over-managed at times, making more pitching changes without allowing a reliever to record at least three outs than any other skipper. He also made more moves while ahead and with runners on base than any other skipper. Washington, ever the chooser of spots, made a league-best 184 switches in high-leverage situations, and led the league in pitching changes during tie games. Though each will try his best to control Sunday’s clash, the execution of their players will decide this one.

Matt Trueblood is a student at Loyola University Chicago and B/R College Writing Intern. Follow him on Twitter.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

With the MLB playoffs just hours away, many fans are inevitably experiencing their own version of postseason baseball butterflies.

But it isn’t just the fans that are trying to quell their nervousness; it’s also a handful of players who are playing for more than just a shot at the Fall Classic.

No pressure, really.

Lurking in the dugouts of the eight remaining teams are a collection of various players who are not only trying to help their respective teams advance in the playoffs but are also trying to prove their free-agency worth.

And what better stage than the postseason, right?

But we’re not just talking about your average, random player without a contract per say; we’re talking about some guys who already have some quality value as MLB players, whether it be as a pitcher or hitter.

Let’s take a look at who I want to highlight, and what exactly these guys are really playing for.

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