Angels sign 1B Carlos Pena, OF Brennan Boesch to minor league deals

The Angels have signed veteran first baseman Carlos Pena and 29-year-old outfielder Brennan Boesch to minor league deals with invitations to spring training, General Manager Jerry Dipoto confirmed Tuesday.

Pena, 35, was once one of baseball’s most productive first basemen, putting together three straight seasons in which he hit at least 31 home runs and drove in 100 runs or more for the Tampa Bay Rays from 2007-2009. His best year was in 2007, when he hit .282 with 46 homers, 121 RBIs and 103 walks.

But his power began to fade after he signed as a free agent with the Chicago Cubs before 2011, and he hit just .207 with eight homers and 25 RBIs in 89 games last season, when he played for the Houston Astros and Kansas City Royals.

The left-handed-hitting Pena is an above-average defender who can play the field when regular first baseman Albert Pujols starts at designated hitter. Pena also provides depth behind regular DH Raul Ibanez.

Boesch, who also bats and throws left-handed, is a corner outfielder with some power who will compete J.B. Shuck and Collin Cowgill for reserve outfielder spots.

The former Harvard-Westlake High standout had three solid seasons for the Detroit Tigers from 2010-2012, hitting .259 with a .315 on-base percentage, .414 slugging percentage, 42 homers and 175 RBIs.

He was released by Detroit after 2012 and signed a $1.5-million deal with the New York Yankees, but he battled a shoulder injury and played in only 23 games, hitting .275 with three homers and eight RBIs, before being released last July 19. He hit .200 in 37 plate appearances for triple-A Scranton.