Rookie relief pitcher Zach Penrod, a member of Boston’s 40-man roster, has experienced elbow soreness in Fort Myers, Fla. The 27-year-old debuted with the Red Sox last September and made seven appearances, pitching to a 2.25 ERA across four innings of relief. It helped give Penrod a brief taste of the big leagues, but now the left-hander is unsure of what’s next.
“He had an MRI yesterday,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters Thursday, per team-provided video. “We’re waiting for the results. We’ll know more (on Friday).”
Penrod battled through a left shin injury last season after getting assigned to Triple-A Worcester in March. Once recovered, Penrod recorded a 4.16 ERA with 93 strikeouts through 22 appearances, including 12 starts, with Worcester before the Red Sox promoted him. Penrod wasn’t slated for a major role this upcoming season with the front office having already bolstered the bullpen through a few notable additions, however, the club is still keeping its fingers crossed and anticipating the best.
“Hopefully everything is OK,” Cora said. “With the lefties, we’ve got (Aroldis Chapman), we’ve got (Justin) Wilson. We’ve got (Brennan Bernardino). We’ve got Penrod. There’s probably more coming in the upcoming days. We felt like the last few years we had good ones but we were short. So like I said, competition is good. The more the better. (Penrod) is part of the equation.”
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Penrod, formerly of the Texas Rangers, went undrafted in 2018 and spent three years playing independent baseball in the Pioneer League striving to keep his lifelong big league dream alive. If the MRI results put him in the clear, Penrod will undergo his latest journeyman battle to earn a role in Boston down the line. The Red Sox also have fellow left-handed relievers Jovani Morán and Sean Newcomb at camp, joining the team as non-roster invitees this spring.
