A look at the Orioles' newest catcher and more free agent pitching talk

Taking a look at the Orioles' newest catcher while waiting for the Winter Meetings to start tomorrow and wondering if the Orioles will have new players by this time next week:

On the day the Orioles traded the catcher that was considered No. 3 on their depth chart, they acquired another one who moves into that role. Steve Clevenger was dealt to Seattle on Wednesday. That same day, the Orioles acquired 26-year-old Francisco Pena from Kansas City for cash considerations.

Pena very likely is now third behind Matt Wieters and Caleb Joseph. Pena has minor league options remaining and will likely begin 2016 with Triple-A Norfolk.

Pena was once one of the top young players in the Dominican Republic. In the summer of 2006, some predicted he would sign a $2 million bonus. In the end he got $750,000 from the New York Mets. That was the seventh-largest bonus for an international amateur that summer.

He was the Mets' No. 12-ranked prospect at the end of 2006 and was No. 21 after the next two seasons.

"When the Mets signed him, he was a prominent guy," Baseball America's J.J Cooper said. "When he was very young, he was a very significant prospect. Then he reached that point where you realized he was not going to hit his ceiling.

"But you look at the last couple of years and you see some potential value. But it's a lower-impact guy. I would call him closer to a fringe, average receiver with a good arm. But he has legit power. He's not going to hit for average, but he has shown there is legitimate power in there and we've seen that at the Triple-A level. He wasn't doing that just in hitters ballparks like Las Vegas or Reno."

With Triple-A Omaha over the past two seasons, Pena hit a combined 40 homers in 684 at-bats. This followed a three-season stretch where he hit only 21 combined homers. It could lead one to believe his power was inflated in Pacific Coast League ballparks.

"The PCL helps, obviously," Cooper said. "But, you know, 2014 was an excellent season for him. This last season was not as good, but 27 homers for a catcher (in 96 games in 2014) is really good. But there has always been some power potential there."

The son of former big leaguer and current Yankees coach Tony Pena, Francisco Pena played seven seasons in the Mets organization before Kansas City added him on a minor league contract in November 2013.

In 784 career minor league games, Pena has hit .238/.288/.378 with 80 home runs and 352 RBIs. He has played in nine career big league games with Kansas City, going 1-for-7. He has thrown out 31 percent of attempted base stealers in his minors career.

Cooper said he will be solid as the Orioles' No. 3 on their catching depth chart.

"Oh, yeah. I'm guessing the Royals look at it as they needed that 40-man roster spot," Cooper said. "But the No. 3 catcher is an important role in some ways. A lot of times, those guys end up catching 20 to 30 games. The Orioles are in a situation where their No. 1 guy has gotten hurt.

"A lot of times, that No. 3 catcher is kind of considered a glove without a bat. I would say Pena has a little less glove than that guy normally has with a better bat due to the power potential."

The pitchers: Dads, teach your sons to become pitchers. The payoff could one day be a big payout. Here are some of the recent free agent contracts:

* Boston signs David Price to a seven-year, $217 million deal
* Arizona signs Zack Greinke to a six-year, $206.5 million deal
* Detroit signs Jordan Zimmermann to a five-year, $110 million deal
* San Francisco signs Jeff Samardzija to a five-year, $90 million deal.

Samardzija led the majors last year in hits and earned runs allowed, and went 11-13 with a 4.96 ERA for the Chicago White Sox. San Francisco will also give up the 19th pick in next June's draft for this signing.

Where does this leave the Orioles? Johnny Cueto is still on the market, along with Mike Leake, Scott Kazmir, Yovani Gallardo and their own Wei-Yin Chen to name a few.

What is your take?: Where should the Orioles turn for pitching help? Will they be busy at the Winter Meetings?