"Cross another designated hitter candidate off the board, and, if you've been following the discussion about that position related to news surrounding the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers in the past week, surely you're disappointed to learn where Carlos Pena ended up.

On Friday, Pena returned to the team with which he enjoyed his best fantasy season, that coming in 2007, as he signed a one-year, $7.25 million contract with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Frankly, fantasy owners would've been happier had Pena landed in a place such as New York, or even remained in Chicago, considering the type of hitter he has become. In Tampa Bay, and Tropicana Field, he'll call home a ballpark that ranked among the 10 toughest venues in which to hit a home run in three of the past four seasons. Meanwhile, Chicago's Wrigley Field and New York's Yankee Stadium are two ballparks that benefit left-handed power hitters.

Consider this: Per ESPN Stats & Information's Mark Simon, Pena pulled 52 percent of his balls put into play from 2009 to 2011 combined, the highest percentage for a pure left-handed hitter. Delving further, Pena pulled 71.1 percent of his ground balls and 38.1 percent of his fly balls, which helps explain why, the more time that passes, defenses are more apt to pull an extreme shift against him.

Couple that with a 27.4 percent strikeout rate in that three-year span, third highest among qualified hitters, as well as his eroding performance against left-handed pitching (.814, .675, .594 OPS against that side in the past three seasons), and it's no wonder Pena has batted a mere .216, the worst batting average of any hitter. You can make the BABIP case if you wish -- his was .246, also worst in the majors -- but there are explanations for why his BABIP was so low."