Should The Cubs Bring Carlos Back In 2012?

John Arguello of Cubs Den does an excellent job here weighing the pros and cons of a bringing Carlos Pena back to the Cubs in 2012:

Pena's return is very much in question but my guess is that the Cubs would welcome him back on a 2 year deal at around $16M or so, about the average worth Pena has had over the past two years.   They will not get in a bidding war if that's what Boras eventually wants to do.  In that scenario, the Cubs would simply give the 1B job to LaHair and use the money to upgrade elsewhere.

As many know, I am a big fan of the Boot 2012 campaign, wherein the Chicago Cubs essentially pay no one more than $5M and just cull a bunch of great draft picks. That being said, I love Carlos Pena and love that I have been able to root for him for the last four years.

I think 2 years at $16M (maybe $7M in 2012, $9M in 2013) would be great — possibly a steal — but I doubt Borris gets so little for Pena.