Carlos Peña Biography

Carlos Peña is an eminent former Dominican professional baseball first baseman. He played in MLB (Major League Baseball) for the Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, and Kansas City Royals.

Carlos Peña Education

He received his education at Haverhill High School where he graduated in 1995. After graduating from high school, he attended Wright State University, but after one year he returned home and attended Northeastern University where he studied electrical engineering. During his time at Northeastern University, he led the Northeastern Huskies to one NCAA tournament. There, his career batting average was .324 and he finished with 24 home runs in two seasons.

Carlos Peña Professional Career

Carlos Peña Texas Rangers

He was selected by the Texas Rangers in the first round (tenth overall) in the 1998 Major League Baseball draft. In 1998,k he played for three different Rangers affiliates. Before the 1999 season, he was named Baseball America as the 93rd prospect in their top 100 prospects list. In 1999, he played for the Charlotte Rangers. The following year, he was promoted to the Double-A Tulsa Drillers where he batted .299 with 28 home runs and 105 RBI in 138 games. In 2001, he appeared in Baseball America’s top 100 prospects, this time at number eleven, and was the Rangers’ top prospect. He finished the 2001 season with a .258 batting average and three home runs in 22 games played.

Carlos Peña Pakland Athletics

He along with Mike Venafro was traded to the Oakland Athletics on January 14, 2002, for Jason Hart, Gerald Laird, Ryan Ludwick, and Mario Ramos. In 40 games with the A’s, he hit .218 with seven home runs and 16 RBIs.

Carlos Peña Detroit Tigers

On July 6, 2002, he was involved in a three-team deal. The Athletics sent him, a player to be named later(later named as Jeremy Bonderman), and Franklyn German to the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers acquired Pena due to a season-ending injury to designated hitter Dmitri Young. He made his Tigers debut the next day against the Boston Red Sox, as he went 3-4 with 2 doubles and 2 RBIs. In 2002, he played in 75 games and batted .253 with 12 home runs and 36 RBIs. He played in his first full season in 2003 as the Tigers’ everyday first baseman. In a game against the Cleveland Indians on May 19, he established career highs with 3 home runs and 7 RBIs.

He also missed nearly a month in July when he suffered a left calf strain. On May 27, 2004, he matched a Tigers’ nine-inning single-game record with a career-high six hits in a game against the Kansas City Royals. He began the 2005 season as the team’s first baseman. However, he was demoted to the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens after playing in 40 games in which he batted .181 with three home runs and 14 RBIs. In his demotion, he played in 71 games and batted .311 with 12 home runs and 71 RBIs. On August 17, he was recalled following an injury to shortstop Carlos Guillen. During his time with the Tigers, he hit the longest home run, a 461-foot blast in Comerica Park history.

Carlos Peña New York Yankees

On April 15, 2006, he signed a minor league contract with the New York Yankees. He went on to play at the Triple-A level for the Columbus Clippers.

Carlos Peña Boston Red Sox

On August 17, 2006, he signed a minor league contract with the Red Sox and was assigned to Triple-A Pawtucket. There, he played in 11 games and batted .459 with 4 home runs and 8 RBIs. In 2006, he ended up playing in 18 games for the Red Sox where he batted .273 with 1 home run and three RBIs.

Carlos Peña Tampa Bay Devil Rays

On February 1, 2007, he signed a minor league with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays with an invitation to spring training. On April 1, he was re-signed to a Major League contract. Throughout the 2007 season, he was on Ray’s active roster. In 2007, he had the best season of his career as he set numerous career highs. He finished the season with a .282 batting average, home runs, and 121 RBIs. The following year, he had a .227 batting average and 11 home runs in 207 at-bats through June 4, 2008.

After the 2008 season, he was awarded his first (and also the first for a Tampa Bay Rays franchise player) AL Gold Glove. He was then elected for the 2009 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, replacing Dustin Pedroia. He suffered two broken fingers on September 7, 2009, after getting hit by a pitch. The injury put him out for the rest of the 2009 season. In 2010, he hit 28 home runs drove in 84 runs, and finished the season with a .196 batting average.

Carlos Peña Chicago Cubs

On December 8, 2010, he signed a one-year contract with the Chicago Cubs. In 2011, he received $5 million, and $5 million in 2012, counted against the 2011 payroll. In 153 games, he hit .225 with 28 home runs and 80 RBIs as Chicago’s starting first baseman.

Carlos Peña second stint with the Tampa Bay Rays

He returned to the Rays for a second stint on January 20, 2012, signing a one-year, $7.25 million deal. Four days later, he was introduced on January 24, after passing a physical earlier in the day. On April 6, 2012, during opening day against the Yankees, he hit a grand slam off of CC Sabathia in his first at-bat, and later the game-winning hit off of Mariano Rivera to seal a 7-6 victory for the Rays. He finished the 2012 season with a .197 average (lowest among all qualified MLB batters), 19 home runs, and 61 RBI.

Carlos Peña Houston Astros

He signed a one-year deal with the Houston Astros on December 17, 2012, worth $2.9 million with another $1.4 million in incentives, to be their designated hitter in their inaugural American League season. He was then designated for assignment on July 21, 2013. On July 31, 2013, he was released by the Astros.

Carlos Peña Kansas City Royals

On August 28, 2013, he signed was minor league contract by the Kansas City Royals. For the team, he played in 4 games with three hitless at-bats before the end of the season.

Carlos Peña Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

He along with Brennan Boesch signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on January 28, 2014. He was then released on March 23.

Carlos Peña’s second stint with the Rangers

He signed a minor league deal to return to the Rangers on June 17, 2014. On June 24, he was called up. He went on to play 18 games for the Rangers, batting .136/.190/.237 with 2 RBI in 59 at-bats before being designated for assignment on July 17. He was officially released by the Rangers on August 17. After remaining out of the game for over a year, he signed a one-day contract with the Tampa Bay Rays so he could officially retire as a member of the team.

Carlos Peña Broadcasting

MLB Network announced in December 2014, that Carlos had joined its team as a studio analyst. In September 2017, he appeared on the New England Sports Network (NESN) as a studio analyst. Also, he worked as a color commentator with Jerry Remy and play-by-play announcer Dave O’Brien during the Red Sox’s final series of the regular season against the Houston Astros. In February 2019, he was announced as part of the NESN broadcast team for the Red Sox 2019 season. Moreover, he contributes to Cubs Postgame Live on Marquee Sports Network

Carlos Peña Age

Carlos was born on May 17, 1978, therefore he is 45 years old as of August 2023. He thus celebrates his birthday on May 17th of every year.

Carlos Peña Height

He stands at a height of 6 feet 2 inches (1.88m) tall.

Carlos Peña Family

Pena was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, to Juana Marisela Pena (Mother) and Felipe Pena (Father). He has four siblings, as he is the second-eldest of five siblings.

Carlos Peña Wife

Carlos is married to the love of his life, Pamela Pena. They got married in 2003. He and his wife are blessed with three kids, whose names and gender is unknown.

Carlos Peña Net Worth

Pena has a net worth of $22 million which he has earned through being a Studio Analyst and a former professional baseball player.

Carlos Peña Salary

He earns an annual salary of $1 million.