The last game Wily Mo Pena played in was July 12th, 2008 as his Nationals took on the Astros. Pena went 0/4 in the game to lower his OPS to .510. He wouldn’t play in another game for the Nationals. He spent 2009 with the Buffalo Bison of the AAA International League, an affilate of the New York Mets. Pena OPSed .710. and was released in June. He played in 39 games for Bridgeport of the Atlantic League to start 2010, and OPSed .854 in 39 games. The Padres came calling, and he signed with them that July. In 40 games for Portland of the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, Pena OPSed .946. This offseason, multiple teams were interested. He eventually settled on an offer from the Arizona Diamondbacks. He didn’t make the club out of spring training, and once again started the season in the PCL, this team with the Reno Aces.
It was the best thing that could have happened to Pena’s career. In 63 games with Reno, Pena put up an OPS of 1.165 with a minors-leading 21 home runs an unheard of (for him, anyway) 25:48 walk to strikeout ratio. The calls for the Diamondbacks to give Pena a shot in the majors grew louder and louder. They came to a head yesterday, when Pena was called up by the Diamondacks and penciled into the seventh spot in the lineup as the DH. What happened last night in Wily Mo Pena’s career was typical of what usually happens in his career: in his second at bat, he homered. This wasn’t just any home run. It was a 422 foot bomb to right center field that went into the waterfall behind the concourse at Kauffman Stadium. I’d embed a video of it, but MLB.com won’t let me. So check it out yourself. Pena’s final two at bats were also classic Wily Mo: he struck out in each of them.
I don’t think Pena is going to stick as a regular for the Diamonbacks. The team has a pair of star outfielders in Chris Young and Justin Upton, and while Gerardo Parra isn’t great with the bat, he’s good defensively. Pena will probably just come off of the bench as a huge boomstick for Arizona. But at the end of the day, we can all rest easy. Wily Mo is back in the majors, and the former three-time BA top 100 prospect will be entertaining us with long bombs and ugly strikeouts for at least the next three months. Or so we hope. Don’t let us down, Diamondbacks.
Elsewhere…
–Mike Minor shut the Blue Jays down, and was demoted to AAA as a thank you
–The Marlins losing streak is over, and Jack McKeon gets his first win at the helm since 2005
–A Nationals walk-off puts them a game under .500!
Today…
-Brandon Beachy makes his return to the Braves rotation to take on former Brave Jojo Reyes, as the Braves look for a sweep
-Double dip in Cincinnati between the Reds and Yankees
-An awesome midday pitching matchup in Milwaukee, as David Price takes on Shaun Marcum
