Carlos Felipe Peña (born May 17, 1978 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a left-handed first baseman and team captain for the Tampa Bay Rays.

He graduated from Haverhill High School in 1995. He initially went to Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, but returned home after a semester and instead went to Northeastern University where he studied electrical engineering. During his time at Northeastern Pena lead the Huskies to one NCAA tournament. Pena’s career batting average at Northeastern was .324 and finished with 24 home runs in two seasons.

In 1998, Peña was a first round draft pick as the tenth overall pick by the Texas Rangers.

Peña began his professional career in 1998, playing for three different Rangers affiliates. In 1999, Peña played for the Charlotte Rangers, the Rangers Advanced Single-A team. He batted .255 with 18 home runs in 138 games. Peña was promoted to the Double-A Tulsa Drillers in 2000. He put up a strong performance in his 138 games played, batting .299 with 28 home runs and 105 RBIs. He advanced to Rangers Triple-A affiliate in 2001. He played in 119 games for the Redhawks in which he batted .288 with 23 home runs and 74 RBIs. Peña was also a Triple-A All-Star in 2001.

Peña made his Major League debut on September 5, starting at first base and going 0-3. Peña finished the 2001 season with a .258 batting average and 3 home runs in 22 games played.

On January 14, 2002, Peña was traded to the Oakland Athletics. Peña was on the Athletics Opening Day roster but traded shortly thereafter to the Detroit Tigers. Peña made his Tigers debut the next day, on July 7, against the Boston Red Sox. He went 3-4 with 2 doubles and 2 RBIs. Overall he batted .242 with 19 home runs and 52 RBIs in 115 games. Peña played in his first full season in 2003 as the Tigers everyday first baseman.

In 2004, Peña established career highs in games played (142), at bats (481), hits (116), doubles (22), home runs (27), runs scored (89), RBIs (82), total bases (227), stolen bases (7), walks (70), and strikeouts (146). Pena also batted .241 in 2004.

By 2007 Peña would go on to have the best season of his career setting numerous career highs. He finished the season with a .282 batting average, 46 home runs and 121 RBIs. His batting average, home runs, and RBIs were career highs, as well as games played (148), at bats (490), runs scored (99), doubles (29), total bases (307), on-base percentage (.411), slugging percentage (.627), walks (103), and strikeouts (142). While his team did not advance to the playoffs, Peña’s season led him to being named the 2007 American League Comeback Player of the Year.

After the 2008 season ended, he was awarded his first (and also the first for a Tampa Bay Rays franchise player) AL Gold Glove.