Purple Sox Commerce Zach Penrod To Dodgers
The Dodgers and Purple Sox have agreed to a commerce that’ll ship left-hander Zach Penrod from Boston to Los Angeles, studies Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. The Sox designated Penrod for project earlier this week within the wake of the Rafael Devers blockbuster, as they had been buying two 40-man gamers (Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison) and solely buying and selling away one.
Penrod, 28, is an fascinating story. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Rangers in 2018 and pitched briefly of their system earlier than being lower unfastened through the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He then spent three years pitching within the impartial Pioneer League earlier than catching the eyes of Purple Sox scouts and returning to affiliated ball.
A pleasant minor league exhibiting throughout a number of ranges in 2024 pushed Penrod up onto the 40-man roster. He tossed 62 2/3 frames throughout three ranges and logged a 4.16 ERA with an enormous 34.8% strikeout fee however a equally hefty 12.4% stroll fee. The Sox summoned him to the majors within the season’s second half, and he pitched 4 innings down the stretch, holding opponents to a run on three hits and 4 walks with three strikeouts.
Penrod was within the combine for a bullpen spot heading into the 2025 season, however an elbow damage in spring coaching knocked him out for almost three months. He returned to the mound in late Could and has pitched 7 1/3 minor league innings. It’s been a blended bag. He’s allowed 4 runs and solely seven hits whereas punching out 9 of 36 batters (25%). Nevertheless, he’s additionally issued seven walks, plunked a batter and tossed three wild pitches.
Command has by no means been a very robust go well with, but it surely’s additionally comprehensible if there’s some rust after he was initially recognized with elbow irritation in late February and didn’t get again onto a mound in a sport setting till Could 24. Penrod’s 95 mph common fastball this 12 months is a match for his 2024 mark, and he’s posted an enormous 15% swinging-strike fee after logging a even more-impressive 16.6% mark in that regard throughout final 12 months’s minor league run.
Penrod will give the Dodgers a hard-throwing lefty with clear bat-missing capacity and, as critically, a full slate of three minor league choice years remaining. Los Angeles churns by the ultimate few spots of its bullpen as a lot as — if no more than — another group within the sport, so versatile arms with Penrod’s basic ability set are at all times going to be considerably interesting to the Dodgers.