Braves, Phillies interested in Penny?
According to a report by ESPN’s Buster Olney this afternoon, the Atlanta Braves are one of the teams “in the conversation” with the Red Sox to acquire pitcher Brad Penny. But Braves beat writer Mark Bowman of MLB.com offers a conflicting report, writing that the Braves don’t have any interest in the burly righthander.
Penny, coincidentally enough, may be traded to make way in the Red Sox rotation for a longtime Braves star pitcher, John Smoltz, who is on the verge of completing his rehabilitation program after shoulder surgery.
Olney writes that the Red Sox “have been doing their own research” on Atlanta Braves right fielder Jeff Francoeur, a 25-year-old former phenom who has struggled in recent seasons as his free-swinging tendencies have been exposed. He is batting .251 with four homers and 25 runs batted in this season, with a .275 on-base percentage.
As far as Philadelphia is concerned, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports that the Phillies called the Sox to ask about Penny and reportedly were told it would take shortstop prospect Jason Donald to get him.
Penny, 31, is 5-1 with a 5.63 ERA this season, but has pitched well lately, going 3-0 with a 4.11 ERA in his last five starts. He was signed to a one-year, $5 million deal with incentives in the offseason after four-plus seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He finished third in the voting for the NL Cy Young Award in 2007, going 16-4 with a 3.03 ERA.
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