Tony Peña Jr.

{{For|other baseball players named Tony Peña|Tony Peña (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name = Tony Peña Jr.

|position = Pitcher / Shortstop

|team =

|number =

|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1981|3|23}}

|birth_place = Santiago, Dominican Republic

|bats = Right

|throws = Right

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate = April 13

|debutyear = 2006

|debutteam = Atlanta Braves

|finaldate = July 12

|finalyear = 2009

|finalteam = Kansas City Royals

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label = Batting average

|stat1value = .228

|stat2label = Home runs

|stat2value = 4

|stat3label = Runs batted in

|stat3value = 66

|stat4label = Win–loss record

|stat4value = 0–0

|stat5label = Earned run average

|stat5value = 0.00

|stat6label = Strikeouts

|stat6value = 1

|teams =

;As player

Atlanta Braves ({{mlby|2006}})
Kansas City Royals ({{mlby|2007}}–{{mlby|2009}})

;As coach

Kansas City Royals ({{mlby|2021}})

|medaltemplates=

{{MedalCountry | {{DOM}}}}

}}

Tony Francisco Peña (born March 23, 1981) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. Peña played shortstop until the 2009 season, when he converted to pitching.{{cite web|title=Notes: Tony Peña at www.retrosheet.org | url=http://www.retrosheet.org }} He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves and Kansas City Royals.

When he retired from playing, Peña moved on to coaching. He is currently the manager for the Kansas City Royals' Single-A affiliate, the Columbia Fireflies.

Family

Peña is the son of Tony Peña and the brother of Francisco Peña. His uncle, Ramón Peña, pitched for the Detroit Tigers in 1989.

Playing career

=Atlanta Braves=

A non-drafted free agent, Peña was signed on July 21, 1999 by the Atlanta Braves.{{cite news|title=Royals acquire shortstop Tony Pena Jr. from Atlanta|url=http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20070323&content_id=1856145&vkey=pr_kc&fext=.jsp&c_id=kc|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402110955/http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20070323&content_id=1856145&vkey=pr_kc&fext=.jsp&c_id=kc|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 2, 2015|access-date=March 13, 2015|work=MLB.com|date=March 23, 2007}} He made his big league debut with Atlanta on April 13, 2006. His first Major League hit came on April 21 at Washington against the Nationals. He appeared in 40 games for the Braves, batting .227 with a home run and three RBIs in 44 at-bats.

=Kansas City Royals=

On March 23, 2007, Peña was traded to Kansas City for pitching prospect Erik Cordier.{{cite news|last1=Bowman|first1=Mark|title=Braves get Royals' Cordier for Pena|url=http://m.braves.mlb.com/news/article/1856137/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402135726/http://m.braves.mlb.com/news/article/1856137/|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 2, 2015|access-date=March 13, 2015|work=MLB.com|date=March 23, 2007}} In Peña's first game as a Royal, he hit two triples. Peña finished 2007, his first full season, at .267/.284/.356 with two homers and 47 RBIs. He also hit seven triples and stole five bases.

Pena lost his job as a regular starter in the middle of 2008. From June through the end of 2008, Pena mainly entered games as a defensive replacement. Pena made his major league pitching debut on July 21, performing mop-up duty in a 19–4 blowout loss to the Detroit Tigers. He pitched a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout of Iván Rodríguez.{{cite news|last1=Kaegal|first1=Dick|title=Royals subjected to Tigers' revenge|url=http://m.royals.mlb.com/news/article/3168649/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402124846/http://m.royals.mlb.com/news/article/3168649/|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 2, 2015|access-date=March 13, 2015|work=MLB.com|date=July 22, 2008}} Pena made 75 plate appearances in 46 games through the last four months of the 2008 season and was designated for assignment by the Kansas City Royals on July 16, 2009.{{cite news|last1=Kaegal|first1=Dick|title=Betancourt, Gordon coming off DL|url=http://m.royals.mlb.com/news/article/5896282/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402153801/http://m.royals.mlb.com/news/article/5896282/|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 2, 2015|access-date=March 13, 2015|work=MLB.com|date=July 16, 2009}}

=San Francisco Giants=

On December 11, 2009, Peña, signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants to try to be a pitcher and was placed with the Richmond Flying Squirrels, the Giants' Double-A affiliate.{{cite news|last1=Gonzalez|first1=Alden|title=Giants ink righty Pena to Minors deal|url=http://m.giants.mlb.com/news/article/7797646/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402093007/http://m.giants.mlb.com/news/article/7797646/|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 2, 2015|access-date=March 13, 2015|work=MLB.com|date=December 11, 2009}}

=Boston Red Sox=

On January 5, 2011, Peña signed a minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox.{{cite news|last1=Browne|first1=Ian|title=Boston adds to catching depth with waiver claim|url=http://m.redsox.mlb.com/news/article/16395458/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402161003/http://m.redsox.mlb.com/news/article/16395458/|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 2, 2015|access-date=March 13, 2015|website=MLB.com|date=January 5, 2011}}

=Vaqueros Laguna=

Pena was released by the Vaqueros Laguna on June 16, 2016.

=Saraperos de Saltillo=

On June 19, 2016, Peña signed with the Saraperos de Saltillo of the Mexican League.

=Olmecas de Tabasco=

On May 19, 2017, Peña was released by the Olmecas de Tabasco of the Mexican League.{{cite web

|url=http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=l_trn&lid=125|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905082652/http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=l_trn&lid=125|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 5, 2015|title=Stats|website=Minor League Baseball}} He ultimately would not appear in another professional baseball game.

=Kansas City Royals (second stint)=

On May 30, 2017, Peña signed a minor league deal with the Kansas City Royals.{{Cite web|url=http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/minor-league-transactions-160/|title = Top MLB Prospects, Scouting Reports, Analysis}}

Coaching career

Peña managed the AZL Royals during the 2019 season.

He was named the bench coach of the Omaha Storm Chasers prior to the 2020 season which ultimately was not played due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In January 2021, it was announced that he would join the Royals' big league coaching staff.{{cite web|url=https://www.mlb.com/press-release/press-release-royals-announce-coaching-staff-for-2021-season |title=Royals announce coaching staff for 2021 season|website=MLB.com|date=January 22, 2021|access-date=April 24, 2021}}

On January 14, 2022, Peña was announced as the manager of the Columbia Fireflies.{{cite web|last1=Kocsis Jr|first1=John|title=Fireflies 2022 Coaching Staff Announced|url=https://www.milb.com/news/011421-fireflies-2022-coaching-staff-announced|website=Minor League Baseball|date=January 14, 2022|access-date=July 18, 2023}}