After Brad Penny asked for and received his release from the Boston Red Sox last Thursday, he had to clear release waivers. During that time, there was speculation that he could end up with Boston’s hated rivals to the south, the New York Yankees.
There were also thoughts he would return to the National League with the San Francisco Giants or one of his former clubs in the Florida Marlins. Any deal Penny was going to sign needed to be done by Monday night so that he could be post-season eligible.
Well according to Buster Olney of ESPN The Magazine, Penny has decided to head back to the NL West with the Giants as he agreed to a minor league deal with them on Monday. This will be the third team in the NL West he has played for. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks are the others.
Coming into Monday night’s games, the Giants were six games behind the Dodgers in the NL West and were tied with the Colorado Rockies for the wild card.
Penny’s first start should come on Wednesday against the Philadelphia Philles and then he is lined up to face the Dodgers.
Penny signed a 1-year, $5 million deal with the Red Sox before the season and made 24 starts for them. He was 7-8 with a 5.61 ERA and had won just once in his last eleven starts in a Red Sox uniform.
