Red Sox sign Brad Penny

BOSTON, MA -- The Boston Red Sox announced that the team has signed free agent righthanded pitcher Brad Penny to a one-year contract through the 2009 season. No further terms were disclosed.

The announcement was made by Executive Vice President/General Manager Theo Epstein.

Penny, 30, went 6-9 with a 6.27 ERA in 19 games/17 starts for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008. He struck out 51 and walked 42 over a career-low 94.2 innings after spending three separate stints on the disabled list with injuries to his right shoulder.

He began the season going 5-2 with a 3.19 ERA in his first seven starts through May 2 but lost each of his next seven decisions and was placed on the 15-day disabled list on June 17 with mild tendonitis in his right shoulder. Penny was limited to four games/two starts over the remainder of the season due to two more trips to the D.L., including a season-ending 60-day stint that began on September 24.

In 2007, he posted a 16-4 record in 33 starts and set a career-high with 208.0 innings pitched. The righthander led the majors with a .800 winning percentage, tied for second in the National League with 26 quality starts and ranked third with a 3.03 ERA. Penny was named to his second consecutive All-Star team after starting for the senior circuit in 2006 and finished third in 2007 N.L. Cy Young Award voting.

Penny is 94-75 with a 4.06 ERA in 249 games/245 starts over nine years in the major leagues with the Florida Marlins (2000-04) and Dodgers (2004-08). He tied for third in the N.L. with 32 total wins from 2006-07 and ranked eighth among N.L. qualifiers with a .600 winning percentage from 2004-07, and 10th during that span with a 3.61 ERA.

He has a 3-2 record and 6.26 ERA in eight career post-season appearances and joined Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell on the 2003 World Series Champion Marlins, going 2-0 with a 2.19 ERA in two starts against the New York Yankees in the Fall Classic.

Penny was originally selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the fifth round of the 1996 First-Year Player Draft. He combined with lefthanded pitcher Luis Arroyo on the first no-hitter in Portland Sea Dogs history on August 8, 1999, his first game in the Marlins organization following a mid-season trade from the Diamondbacks.

The Red Sox today also outrighted righthanded pitcher Charlie Zink to Triple-A Pawtucket. Righthanded pitchers Virgil Vasquez and Dewon Day were claimed off waivers by the San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Rays respectively. With the addition of Penny, these moves put Boston's major league roster at 39 players.