Red Sox get OF Pena for RHP Arroyo

FORT MYERS, Fla. --Wily Mo Pena hits the ball with amazing power, if he hits it. Bronson Arroyo has shown he can be a reliable starter, if given the chance.

Both of those ifs can turn to realities after the Boston Red Sox obtained the slugging outfielder from the Cincinnati Reds for the right-handed pitcher on Monday.

Arroyo was headed for the bullpen because of Boston's deep rotation but now figures to help Cincinnati's mediocre starting staff. Pena struck out on 37 percent of his at-bats last season, but Boston general manager Theo Epstein thinks that can drop.

"Pena strikes out on a rate basis more than anyone else in the big leagues," Epstein said. "There is precedent for those (type) players developing a little bit more discipline, increasing their walk rate and becoming better all around hitters as they adjust to the big leagues."

Pena, 24, struck out more times last season (116) than Arroyo struck out batters (100). But Pena also hit 19 homers in 311 at bats.

"This guy has some crazy power, man," said Boston DH David Ortiz, who rated Pena's strength above his own.

Arroyo can pitch a lot of innings and, if necessary, move to the bullpen. Last year he was 14-10 with a 4.51 ERA in a career-high 205 1-3 innings.

Both players appeared to be happy where they were -- Arroyo with a team and in a city he loved and Pena finally getting a chance to play regularly in left field after playing no more than 100 games in any of his previous three seasons.

Arroyo's agent, Gregg Clifton, said Monday he and the player were "disappointed." Clifton had advised Arroyo against agreeing to the three-year, $11.25 million contract he accepted on Jan. 19, taking a hometown discount that made him more affordable to a team seeking pitching. Boston had offered him $2.95 million in arbitration and Arroyo had asked for $4.2 million before reaching the long-term deal.

The right-hitting Pena will be Boston's fourth outfielder with most of his playing time likely coming as a fill-in for left-hitting right fielder Trot Nixon against left-handed pitchers.

The Reds had to keep Pena in the majors the past three seasons, or place him on waivers, after he ran out of options in 2002 at the age of 20. He was just 17 when he signed a five-year major league contract with the New York Yankees in April 1999.

"He hasn't had time to develop" in the minors, Epstein said. "He's still a really dangerous threat against left-handed pitching."

Pena was surprised.

"I just want to be on a team and play every day," he said.

He could get that chance in 2007 since Nixon will be a free agent after this season.

Pena, who signed a one-year, $1.25 million contract for 2006, can't be a free agent until after the 2008 season. He batted .254 with 19 homers and 51 RBIs last season and struck out 116 times with 20 walks. For the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, he had four singles and three strikeouts in 10 at-bats.

The trade improves the Reds on defense, not one of Pena's strengths. Adam Dunn, who moved to first base when Sean Casey was traded to Pittsburgh, can return to left field. Scott Hatteberg, a free agent who played with Oakland last year, will play first.

"Signing Hatteberg was the key" to the deal, Reds general manager Wayne Krivsky said.

Boston still has Curt Schilling, Tim Wakefield, Josh Beckett, Matt Clement, David Wells and Jon Papelbon as starters.

Cincinnati needs the 29-year-old Arroyo to start, and Krivsky was willing to give up a raw talent who could develop into an outstanding power hitter.

"I can't worry about that," Krivsky said. "This trade makes us a better team now."

Arroyo had said when his contract was announced that co-general managers Jed Hoyer and Ben Cherington, "stated to me that there was no deal on the table for me right now, and they felt pretty strongly that I wouldn't be traded any time anywhere in the near future (but) they couldn't guarantee me security for the lifetime of the contract."

Hoyer and Cherington stepped down from their positions later in January when Epstein returned to the job he left last Oct. 31.

Epstein said the team didn't guarantee Arroyo he wouldn't be traded and added that "I don't think (the contract) was a huge factor" in Cincinnati's decision to make the trade "because if he was on just a one-year contract, which really would have been the alternative in a negotiation, then he still would have been under the club control for three years."

Clifton said, "We're disappointed, as is Bronson, that our prediction has come true. After taking a discounted deal to remain with the Red Sox, he will not throw one pitch under that deal as a member of the Red Sox.

"We certainly respect the Red Sox' right to run their business. I understand their desire to always improve their team."

The trade came one day after Arroyo's only good outing in four exhibition starts, five scoreless innings in a 3-1 win over Baltimore.

"Because we have depth, we might not have been able to get enough out of him" this season, Red Sox manager Terry Francona said, "and that's not a knock on him."

Boston had claimed him off waivers from Pittsburgh before the 2003 season. In 126 major-league games, he's 33-33 with a 4.59 ERA.

The trade was difficult "from a personal standpoint," Epstein said.

"I really admire Bronson," he added, but "if I allowed my personal feelings ... affect our judgment in what we thought was best for the organization, then I wouldn't be doing my job."