The St. Louis Cardinals went shopping on cyber Monday, and got one of their needs off of their off-season wishlist. One of those needs was an upgrade for a backup catcher behind Yadier Molina. They did that by signing free agent catcher Brayan Pena to a two-year contract. He'll earn a total of $5 million in the contract, getting paid $2.5 million for 2016 and 2017. Pena, 34,joins the Cardinals after spending the last two seasons with the Cincinnati Reds.
He was signed by the Atlanta Braves in 2000 as an amateur free agent. He made his MLB debut on May 23, 2005 against the New York Mets. After the Braves, the played for the Kansas City Royals and the Detroit Tigers. He's been in the MLB for 11 seasons. Pena's career's stats are: 629 games played, 136 runs, 466 hits, 92 doubles, 2 triples, 23 home runs, 164 rbi's, 6 stolen bases, 104 walks, and a batting average of .260.
Pena coming to the Cardinals looks like it means the era of Tony Cruz as backup catcher is over. Cruz is arbitration eligible, and could be traded or non-tendered before the deadline on Wednesday. The Cardinals carrying three catchers on the 25-man roster probably won't happen.
It's nice to see the Cardinals kick off their off-season with a solid move. It will be interesting to see what the Cardinals do next.
