This won't come as a surprise to most of you, but ESPN Insider is reporting that the Cubs are interested in pursuing Carlos Pena, who is currently at Triple A with the Yankees. The good news is, Pena will become a free agent on May 2nd if the Yankees don't promote him to the major league roster. From my perspective, the Cubs have two ways to go with this.

1. The Cubs can wait until May 2nd and try to sign him. Of course, there's a possibility that another team will also pursue him, and there could be a bidding war for a guy who the Cubs would only need for 6 to 8 weeks. However, this way the Cubs wouldn't have to spend a prospect.

2. If the Yankees aren't able to fit him onto the roster, they could trade him to the Cubs before the deadline. This would cost the Cubs a prospect, but it might not even have to be a good one, since everybody knows that the Yankees would lose him on May 2nd anyway. This enables the Cubs to avoid a bidding war, although - in theory - any team that would bid on him in free agency also might compete with the Cubs in a trade.

The thing is, I don't know of any teams that are actually interested in the guy, so we have to assume that there's a better than 50-50 chance for the Cubs to get him.

Which would be a good thing. Pena is no Derrek Lee, but he's not a bad hitting first baseman. Last year he hit 18 homers in only 260 at bats, and the year before that he smacked 27 homers in 481 at bats. He's never been a solid hitter for average - he has a career .243 average - but his slugging skills make up for it. Last year, his OPS was .802, and the year before that, it was .810. But the other positive to consider is that, at 27, Pena is entering the prime of his career, and he might be able to hit at a clip above his career batting average.

One last thought. If the Cubs are willing to go to an 11-man pitching staff once Derrek returns, then there's no reason not to keep Pena on as a pinch hitter, assuming he plays well for the team. And if the Cubs are unwilling to keep him, then he very well might have a higher trade value in June or July than he does in April, based obviously upon how he does while he's here. I see only upside in acquiring this guy, and I hope that Jim is able to pull something off.