Brad Penny has been fairly awful lately. He's been bad enough, in fact, that with the Red Sox getting some other pitchers healthy soon, Penny asked for (and was granted) his release from Boston. He's been so bad, then, that the Twins could get him.
Overall, Penny is 7-8 with a 5.61 ERA -- numbers not unlike those posted by Carl Pavano, another ex-Florida pitcher, when the Twins picked him up a few weeks ago. He's been pretty dreadful lately, going 1-6 in his past 11 starts. But through 17 starts this season, he was 6-3 with a 4.71 ERA -- and had pitched at least 5 innings while giving up 3 or fewer earned runs in 13 of those 17 starts.
Those aren't jaw-dropping numbers, but with the Twins' pitching in dire straits (we might have seen the last of Liriano and Perkins this season, and nobody wants to see Blackburn right now), is Penny worth a one-month rental? He's on a one-year, $5 million deal, so it probably wouldn't be too expensive to have him make a handful of starts here.
Is he enough of an upgrade over whatever options there are in the minor leagues or the bullpen (Humber, Gabino, et al.)? Even if he's a marginal upgrade, will it make a difference?
Your thoughts are welcomed.
