Sox to sign Penny

Bard also in sights as backup catcher

Although it might not compete with the big-money, big-name signings by the Yankees in recent weeks - and certainly not with the more than $400 million the Bombers have spent in the offseason - the Sox are set to fill one of their open spots with a more modest acquisition.

Needing a mid- to back-end of the rotation starter, the Sox were on the brink of signing former Dodgers righthander Brad Penny last night, according to a baseball source.

The agreement is a one-year contract for $5 million with performance bonuses that could add $3 million more, starting at 160 innings pitched, the source confirmed. The deal is pending a physical.

The Sox had checked in on other, more pricey starters - like CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett - the past month, but the Sox were content to add Penny, who turns 31 in May, to a rotation that already boasts Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Tim Wakefield, and has options in Clay Buchholz, Justin Masterson, and Michael Bowden.

Penny is coming off a season in which he struggled with injuries, leading the Dodgers to exercise a $2 million buyout rather than pay him $9.25 million in 2009.

The righthander dealt with a sore right shoulder, went on the disabled list in mid-June, and finished the year on the 60-day disabled list.

He pitched just four times after June 14, ending the season with a 6-9 record and a 6.27 ERA in 17 starts and two relief appearances.

However, in 2007, Penny won 16 games for the second straight season, going 16-4 with a 3.03 ERA in 208 innings, and he finished third in the National League Cy Young Award voting. He was 16-9 with a 4.33 ERA in 2006.

The signing almost certainly means Masterson will remain in the bullpen (barring injuries to other starters), where he became the righthanded bridge to closer Jonathan Papelbon in the second half of last season.

Penny will be familiar to a couple of members of the Red Sox.

He won the World Series with Beckett and Mike Lowell as a member of the Florida Marlins in 2003. Sox owner John Henry also had Penny on his roster when he owned the Marlins.

That move wasn't the only one the Sox were set to make last night.

The Sox were also close to reacquiring free agent Josh Bard as a potential backup. The catcher, 30, was with the Sox in 2006, but had trouble handling Wakefield's knuckleball while backing up Jason Varitek.

Bard was shipped to San Diego with Cla Meredith for Doug Mirabelli in May, leading to Mirabelli's return to the Sox via police escort in time for a Wakefield start against the Yankees.

Bard's deal is a one-year, $1.6 million nonguaranteed contract with an option, and is also pending a physical.

He played in 57 games last season with the Padres, batting .202 with one home run and 16 RBIs.

The Sox are still on the lookout for another catcher, with Varitek remaining an option. The team has only minor league catchers on its 40-man roster.

The Sox would like to add a young catcher as well, but the prices have remained high for the oft-cited Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Taylor Teagarden of the Rangers and Miguel Montero of the Diamondbacks.

Papelbon's wife Ashley gave birth to the couple's first child, Parker Alice Papelbon, who checked in at 8 pounds 4 ounces.

Amalie Benjamin can be reached at abenjamin@globe.com.