"Carlos Peña can be a loquacious and inspirational speaker, but on Friday he needed only two words — well, and five exclamation points — in a text message to convey how he felt about returning to the Rays:

"Sooooo excited ... !!!!!"

Peña is headed back after agreeing to terms on a one-year, $7.25 million contract that is expected to be officially announced — and thoroughly discussed — after his physical exam on Tuesday.

The deal is the second step, following last week's signing of DH Luke Scott, of what the Rays project to be a significant upgrade of their offense.

Peña averaged 36 homers and 102 RBIs during his 2007-10 stint with the Rays, while playing stellar defense and providing clubhouse leadership, and both he and the team would welcome a repeat performance.

"I'm pumped he's back," pitcher David Price said. "Great guy on the field but even better in the clubhouse. Hopefully he can do what he's done the last five years and hit a ton of homers for us. And he's a stud on D, too."

Peña, 33, was among the high-salaried players who left the Rays after the 2010 season, signing a one-year, $10 million deal with the Cubs (and hitting 28 homers), but saying the Rays were special to him and he hoped to return one day.

The opportunity presented itself as the Rays sought to improve an offense that finished eighth in the American League (and last among East teams) in runs while not diminishing their baseball-best defense. And they were willing to spend to do so, their payroll increased about 50 percent to about $63 million from last season's $41 million."