Giants Sign Recently Released Penny

The Giants signed Brad Penny, a source confirmed to FanHouse. The move fortifies the back end of their rotation for the final month-long push toward the National League wild-card.

Penny, 31, was released by the Red Sox after going 7-8 with a 5.61 ERA. The Giants are obviously hoping that a return to the National League will help the right-hander, who flourished with the Dodgers from 2004-08, including back-to-back 16-victory seasons.

The Giants had a gaping hole in the No. 5 spot in their rotation. Since the All-Star break, Joe Martinez and Ryan Sadowski had been a combined 2-5 with an 8.47 ERA in that spot. The only game the Giants lost on their just-completed homestand was one in which Martinez was blasted for eight runs in 4 1/3 innings.

Penny had his choice of clubs after he cleared release waivers. The Yankees, Twins, A's, Marlins and Rockies were all reportedly interested.

The Giants will pay Penny only a pro-rated share of the major-league minimum, about $67,000, for the rest of the season. The Red Sox are still on the hook for the rest of his salary, a little over $750,000. The Red Sox signed Penny to a $5 million deal in the winter. Although he showed good velocity, he was never able to consistently get hitters out for Boston.

The signing makes sense for both sides. The Giants obviously have little to lose, Penny is cheap and the Giants had nothing in the No. 5 spot. Martinez was sent down after his last start, so the Giants were simply going to skip that spot the next time through the order, until they came up with someone else.

For Penny, he gets to try to rebuild his value for next year by pitching in the National League, in a pennant race, in a pitcher-friendly park. The Giants are tied with the Rockies for the wild-card lead with 31 games to go.