Carlos Pena had a stellar year in 2007, and to say thanks, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays decided to provide him with a hefty raise. Unfortunately, he’ll be playing in Tampa. And no one told him that’s a bad thing.

The 28-year-old slugger and the Tampa Bay Rays avoided arbitration, reached a preliminary agreement on a three-year contract worth $24,125,000. Pena must pass a physical to complete the deal, which would pay him $6 million this year, $8 million next year and $10,125,000 in 2010.

It’s Friday. And we’d delight to ramble on about how wonderful this is for Pena, but also how ironic it may be since he’s on a shitty ball club. And we can ramble on about how Adrian Beltre once landed himself a hefty contract with Seattle after a stellar year with the Dodgers, only to suck balls ever since fall short of expectations since that year, and how that scenario will unfold in Tamp Bay because, well, Pena is 28 and last year was probably a “peak” season. We could ramble on about that, but it’s Friday.

Monster year, monster deal [SI]
Image [SittingStill]