The Los Angeles Times’ Steve Henson believes that Brad Penny is the Dodger starter most likely to be traded because of his temper problems and awful second half. On the plus side, Penny is on the right side of 30, has a favorable contract, and started the All-Star Game this year.
Henson names the Blue Jays as a fit since J.P. Ricciardi is a fan and the Jays still need to acquire a starting pitcher. Penny is signed at a below-market price – $7.5MM in ’07, $8.5MM in ’08, and an $8.75MM club option in ’09. Penny could be part of a package for Vernon Wells, but the Dodgers might need to contribute a prospect in a trade.
Would the Dodgers trade for Wells and then try to shift him to right field despite his fine defense in center? Wells has played 16 games in right in his career, most recently in 2002. This seems like the only reasonable solution as Juan Pierre and Luis Gonzalez can’t handle right field.
This all assumes the Jason Schmidt signing is official, which the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is not ready to concede.
Ken Davidoff of Newsday mentions that Mark Hendrickson could be a trade candidate for L.A. on the low end. He says Hendrickson could wind up with the Cubs.
