Former MLB outfielder Wily Mo Pena has agreed to sign a one-year contract with the Orix Buffaloes of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, an industry source told sportsnet.ca. The 31-year-old free agent drew interest from both sides of the Pacific before agreeing to terms on the deal, which is valued at $1.5 million.
Pena spent parts of eight seasons playing for the Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners before signing a two-year, $5 million contract with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks following the 2011 season. He hit 84 MLB home runs then added 21 home runs for the Hawks in 2012. However, he played in just 55 games this past season, battling injuries and hitting only one home run.
The New York Mets first signed Pena as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 1998.
