Penny to Be Sidelined for a While

As the Dodgers acknowledged for the first time that pitcher Brad Penny is not likely to rejoin the starting rotation until well into September, they deferred the rehabilitation assignments of two other pitchers to preserve the option of yanking Kazuhisa Ishii out of the rotation yet again.

Penny has not thrown since Aug. 9, the day he ran off the mound at Dodger Stadium, grabbing his arm and wincing in pain. The Dodgers hope he can play catch this week, but physical therapist Pat Screnar said that is a small first step on the road back to the rotation.

“It will take him several weeks just to get his arm in shape to where he could compete,” Screnar said.

Ishii starts tonight. The Dodgers pulled Edwin Jackson from his scheduled appearance tonight for triple-A Las Vegas and could put him in their bullpen today or Wednesday.

If Ishii fares poorly tonight, Manager Jim Tracy said the Dodgers would not hesitate to replace him in the rotation with Hideo Nomo. In two starts at Las Vegas, Nomo has given up five runs and 12 hits in seven innings, with 13 strikeouts.

If the Dodgers do not promote Jackson today and Ishii does not exhaust the bullpen tonight, Jackson would start Wednesday for Las Vegas, with Nomo likely to follow Thursday. The notoriously inconsistent Ishii, given a reprieve from his bullpen banishment by the injury to Penny, gave up four runs in the first inning of his last start and has pitched no more than four innings in four of his last six starts.

After Penny underwent an MRI examination, the Dodgers announced that he had a strained biceps muscle and would miss one start. It is now evident that Penny will miss at least one month.

Screnar said the Dodgers did not issue an overly optimistic prognosis. Instead, he said, nerve irritation from the injury did not abate as the strain healed, with the resulting pain and numbness in the arm delaying Penny’s recovery.

In order to acquire Penny to head their rotation, the Dodgers weakened themselves at catcher and in the bullpen, trading Paul Lo Duca and Guillermo Mota to the Florida Marlins. Can the Dodgers count on Penny returning before the regular season runs out in six weeks?

“How he responds to the initial throwing program will determine that,” Screnar said. “Right now, I’m fairly confident he can return this season.”

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Outfielder Milton Bradley did not start because of an infection in his right eye. Bradley, who took medicated eyedrops, appeared as a pinch-hitter.