James Loney has agreed to a one-year $2 million deal to play first base for the Tampa Bay Rays.
I’m always fascinated by deals the Rays make as they work on a whole different level from the other teams, particularly by those teams that are contenders. Loney, 28, is a .282 hitter in his career with a .758 OPS in seven seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox.
For now, it looks as if the Carlos Pena era is finally over as Loney tries to resurrect his career. Pena hit .197 with 19 homers as Tampa Bay’s primary first baseman in 2012, while Loney hit a combined .249 with six homers and 41 RBI.
Here are the players who have played at least 60% of their Rays games at first base.
| Rk | Player | G | From | To | HR | RBI | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Pena | 726 | 2007 | 2012 | 163 | 468 | .230 | .360 | .483 | .843 |
| 2 | Fred McGriff | 577 | 1998 | 2004 | 99 | 359 | .291 | .380 | .484 | .864 |
| 3 | Travis Lee | 388 | 2003 | 2006 | 42 | 150 | .261 | .333 | .424 | .757 |
| 4 | Casey Kotchman | 146 | 2011 | 2011 | 10 | 48 | .306 | .378 | .422 | .800 |
| 5 | Tino Martinez | 138 | 2004 | 2004 | 23 | 76 | .262 | .362 | .461 | .823 |
| 6 | Eduardo Perez | 90 | 2004 | 2005 | 12 | 35 | .246 | .353 | .467 | .821 |
| 7 | Chris Richard | 13 | 2009 | 2009 | 0 | 0 | .105 | .261 | .105 | .366 |
| 8 | Julio Franco | 1 | 1999 | 1999 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
