Penny OKs Tentative Contract

The Dodgers and pitcher Brad Penny have reached tentative agreement on a three-year contract extension, with a fourth-year option that could increase the value of the deal to $32 million.

Penny must pass a physical examination before the deal can be completed and announced, which could be today.

Penny, 27, is making $5.1 million this season and would have been eligible for free agency in the fall. An extension with an average annual value of $8 million would be in line with the free-agent contracts awarded to starting pitchers last winter, including those the Dodgers signed with Derek Lowe (four years, $36 million) and Odalis Perez (three years, $24 million).

With a strong second half, Penny might have gotten a better offer in free agency.

“I know where I’m going to be,” he said. “Now I can settle down and be comfortable here and pitch every five days.

“Maybe I would get more, but it’s got a lot to do with being happy three years out. You can make more money and be miserable. And the Dodgers are going to win.”

Penny is 3-2 with a 3.67 earned-run average, 52-46 with a 4.00 ERA in his career.

General Manager Paul DePodesta branded Penny an ace when he acquired him in July, in the controversial trade that sent catcher Paul Lo Duca and pitcher Guillermo Mota to the Florida Marlins.

In his second start with the Dodgers, Penny suffered a nerve injury in his right arm, and his rehabilitation delayed his debut this season until April 24.

In four of the last six seasons, including this one, Penny has spent time on the disabled list because of injury to his right arm or shoulder. With the caveat that Penny would have to pass a physical, DePodesta indicated he has no hesitancy about guaranteeing him a multiyear contract.

“His velocity has bounced back. He’s not having any discomfort,” DePodesta said. “I’d say he’s done extremely well on that front.”

Although the Dodgers could wait until the end of the season to guarantee Penny any money and make sure he did not suffer another injury in the meantime, DePodesta suggested he might not win -- or enter -- a bidding war in free agency.

“If we let him go until November, we might be in a much more difficult position to bring him back, if at all,” DePodesta said.

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The Dodgers put pitcher Wilson Alvarez on the disabled list and recalled reliever Franquelis Osoria from triple-A Las Vegas.

Alvarez, 35, is scheduled for an MRI examination to determine whether the tendinitis in his left shoulder is a symptom of a more significant injury.

He is on the disabled list for the second time this season. The Dodgers signed him to a two-year, $4-million contract in the winter.

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Times staff writer Tim Brown contributed to this report.