Major League Baseball

Brad Penny signs minor league deal with Giants

Published May. 19, 2012 8:00 a.m. ET

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Right-hander Brad Penny is getting another shot with San Francisco.

Penny signed a minor league contract with the Giants on Friday as a candidate to help in the bullpen down the road.

Penny, who briefly pitched for the Giants down the down the stretch in 2009 and went 4-1 with a 2.59 ERA in six starts, is scheduled to report to extended spring training in Arizona on Monday. He threw a bullpen session Friday afternoon at AT&T Park for Giants general manager Brian Sabean, manager Bruce Bochy and pitching coach Dave Righetti.

Bochy said Penny needs to get back into baseball shape and would report to Triple-A Fresno when he is ready to pitch regularly. But the plan is for him eventually to be back in the big leagues, as a reliever who can help out starting if needed.

Bochy said the Giants' medical staff examined Penny, who was deemed healthy.

''He has to get back in shape. He needs to be to help us at some point,'' Bochy said. ''We signed him to be here. He's fine. He's healthy. He showed us that in the bullpen.''

The 33-year-old Penny went 11-11 with a 5.30 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 31 starts last season for Detroit. He signed in February with the Japan Pacific League's Softbank Hawks, going 0-1 with a 10.08 ERA in one start before getting released earlier this month.

''Things didn't work out in Japan,'' Bochy said. ''I've had Brad before. It's always nice to have a guy like Penny who's available. We know what he did for us last time we saw him.''

Penny has a 119-99 career record in 12 major league seasons with Florida, the Dodgers, Boston, San Francisco, St. Louis and the Tigers.

In late August 2009, the Giants signed Penny to a minor league contract for the stretch run after he was released by the Red Sox. That winter, Sabean acknowledged San Francisco made a one-year offer with incentives to Penny but the free agent declined to accept the deal. Then, he received a $7.5 million, one-year contract with St. Louis and went 3-4 with a 3.23 ERA in nine starts for the Cardinals in 2010 but missed most of the year with a back injury.

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