Cora also touched on how Penrod’s injury could impact Boston’s bullpen, which lacks trusted lefty options beyond Aroldis Chapman.
“Hopefully everything’s OK,” Cora said. “With the lefties, we’ve got (Chapman), we’ve got (Justin) Wilson. We’ve got Bernie (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.”
With Penrod’s future uncertain, the Red Sox on Thursday reportedly signed veteran lefty Matt Moore to a minor league contract.
Penrod, 27, originally signed with the Texas Rangers as an undrafted free agent in 2018 but underwent Tommy John surgery the following year. After being released in 2020, he spent the following three years pitching for multiple independent league teams before being discovered and signed by the Red Sox in 2023.
Penrod showed immediate promise in the minors and skyrocketed up Red Sox prospect rankings. (He’s currently 20th on SoxProspects.com.) He made his big league debut last September and compiled a 2.25 ERA with three strikeouts and four walks in seven relief appearances.
Penrod’s raw stuff is electric, but his control issues likely make him better suited for a bullpen role than as a starter. Nevertheless, he’d be an intriguing player to monitor going forward if his arm injury proves to be minor.
