The Boston Red Sox are on the cusp of signing Brad Penny to join the rotation, reports Ken Rosenthal:
Penny, who would be in the Red Sox’s starting rotation, will have to
take a physical and the two sides are still working out the language of
the contract.Penny, 29, struggled last season with the Dodgers,
going 6-9 with a 6.27 in 17 starts and two relief appearances. He was
shut down in September and placed on the 60-day disabled list with a
sore right shoulder.Penny posted a career year in 2007 by throwing 208 innings with 16 wins and a career-low 3.03 ERA.
Penny was one of the options I mused about a couple weeks ago.
I would be a big fan of this signing, as he is only one year removed from being on top of the world as a starting pitcher as he also tied for the league lead in wins in 2006.
Anytime someone struggles with injuries, you can’t expect to play well. At just 29, Penny has plenty of years left to contribute and could be a great buy-low option that would enable Justin Masterson to remain in the bullpen.
I’m sure some Red Sox fans will be aghast that “this is our response to the Yankee signings!?” and to that I have two things to say… one: Obviously not… we still need a catcher and a bullpen, so more is to come. Two: The day that we react to Yankee moves instead of acting of our own volition is the day we concede the division title to them.
If Penny continues to have injury issues, the Red Sox then have the flexibility to put Masterson, Clay Buchholz or Michael Bowden in the rotation.
UPDATE 9:20 PM: The deal is $5 million guaranteed, says Sean McAdam. If he pitches over 160 innings, he is eligible for an additional $3 million.
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As I mentioned in the last post while I’d prefer Smoltz/Sheets there is not guarantee we can get either and Penny will be a decent one year gamble. Nice to do something,
Absolutely, I would put Penny in the same class as Smoltz in terms of salary, plus Smoltz was highly unlikely to leave anyways, and Sheets would command more dollars and years.
I forget that Penny is only 29 as well which is nice…seems like he’d be 32/33 as long as he has been around.
Agree Smoltz will end up in Atlanta and with Oswalt pushing for the Astros (no chance) to get Sheets and him expressing interest in the Rangers it sounds like he may prefer going home.
I see nothing wrong with this, it’s like Bartolo Colon +. Penny was one of the best young pitchers in the game a year and a half ago, I think he can rebound. My question is if it costs the Sox a draft pick. Did the Dodgers offer arbitration?
Nope, they did not.
even better
A little dissapointed for not getting Sheets, but at least Penny was my second choice of the available starters. Nice to know the Dodgers didn’t offer him arbitration.
Great move. I think at this point any movement is great movement. And he’s not a Boras client, which makes it even better. The signings of CC, AJ, Sheets & Penny EACH carry risk of injuries and downtime. Penny’s high side is similar to the others, but at one year on a reasonable contract, this this has minimum risk. And, as Evan said, with Buchholz and Bowden maturing in Pawtucket, we are well equipped to handle injuries from Penny, Wake or Beckett.
Penny actually will be 31 in May,,.
Looks like Ken Rosenthal messed up…
31 really isn’t all that odd, though.
Yeah, not a big deal…still a year or two younger then I thought.
And about 5 yrs younger than D.Lowe, for about $10M less, for 1/3 – 1/5 the length of contract . . . and an agent that loves the game and understands his players. I think any concern about Penny’s clubhouse presence will be a non-issue as he is like much of the team, working to reclaim his form and reputation. Pilgrims on the same road tend to work together well; one for all and all for one.
Daniel Rathman’s top-30 piece also predicts Sheets for the Sox, and MLB rumors still has the Sox in the Kawakami hunt if price is reasonable. Hmmm! Could a deep, injury-proof, and dominant rotation be in process of development here?
To think that Penny + Sheets + Shoppach + Bard + Kottaras + Hairston + Bailey COMBINED could cost less than Teixeira and give 25-35W and 40-50HR Phew! We dodged a bullet on that one. Glad to see Theo putting the team together.
Damn straight! Damn freakin’ straight, these are the Red Sox I’ve been expecting to see since Papelbon struck out whatshisname to end the WS. Yeah, I wanted Teix, but most of all I wanted to see some moves with high-upside, and Penny is definitely one of them. And, for personal joy, Theo admits how stupid the Bard deal to San Diego was. Win-win, as long as Bard knows he’s not the starter.
Good job Theo, and you know I don’t say that very often.
How has no one realized the Alyssa Milano angle here? Forty percent of our starting rotation have dated the same Who’s the Boss star. I just hope that signing Penny doesn’t throw off Beckett’s game…