A Penny saved is...a bargaining chip earned?

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

The Red Sox and Theo Epstein have a problem most general managers would kill to have - more pitchers than rotation spots. Let's face it, in an ideal world, that's what Theo was hoping to be faced with at this point in the season. And while everyone talks about six-man rotations and moving Dice-K to the bullpen, let's talk for real for a second here and realize what the Red Sox have right in front of them - a major trading tool in Brad Penny.

Is the Bronson Arroyo situation all over again? Nope. The Red Sox are not going to settle for Wily Mo this time around. If they make a move, they're going to get real value.

A couple of things make Brad Penny expendable. The first, obviously, is the fact that John Smoltz is ready to return to Major League baseball as his 30-day rehab stint ends on Friday. He's expected to pitch that day and if it's with the big Sox, it will be against the Braves of all teams. The second is his contract. Penny is a one-year gamble by Theo that seems to have worked out for the best so far. It will be smart for the Red Sox to wait and see what happens with Smoltz, that is, does he still have it and it's doubtful the team will jump into a deal involving Penny. But on top of Smoltz, the Red Sox have a rejuvenated Clay Buchholz mowing down AAA'ers as he waits for a chance to redeem himself after his 2008 choke job. Not to mention Michael Bowden has a 2.48 ERA and has held opponents to a .207 ERA down at Pawtucket.

What makes Penny valuable also lies in two things. The first is his performance. He had a rocky start to his Red Sox career, as short as it may turn out to be. Penny had a horrendous April, but has improved every month so far this season, dropping his ERA almost 3.5 runs since the beginning of May. In his last five starts, he's gone 2-1 with a 3.65 ERA, and that's even after a sub-par outing two starts ago against Texas. The most important thing he did for his stock was dominate the Yankees for six inning to out-duel C.C. Sabathia on June 11. With the way he's pitching right now, Penny could be considered a No. 2 or No. 3 starter for a lot of teams, and I'm talking contenders.

The second key lies in the rest of the league. Penny became a much bigger commodity because the amount of healthy pitching on the trading block has dwindled just within the past week with the two biggest names on the list going down. Roy Halladay left his start in the third inning with a groin injury. Jake Peavy, who utilized his no-trade clause to block a move to the Chicago White Sox is out 8-12 weeks with a torn ankle tendon. On top of that, there are several teams battling injuries that would love to have an arm like Penny's. Are you going to try to tell me the Phillies wouldn't take Penny to fill Brett Myers' spot?

To this point the Red Sox seem to be far from making a move, which shows they realize the size of the chip they possess. In Penny they have a decent chip that could help them get some talent to help for the stretch run without the team having to give up some of the young talent they covet so much.