Saito and Penny could return next weekend
LOS ANGELES -- Closer Takashi Saito and Opening Day starter Brad Penny could be game-ready for the Dodgers by next weekend.
Saito came out of a Thursday bullpen session fine and is scheduled to face hitters for the first time either after Saturday's day game against Arizona or before Sunday's game. He will make the trip to San Diego and manager Joe Torre said he might be available by next weekend's series in Colorado.
Saito has been out since July 13 with a tear in his elbow ligament and appears to have successfully recovered without surgery.
Penny has been shelved twice this season with shoulder problems. He had an extensive bullpen session Friday, threw all of his pitches and reported no problems. He also will make the trip and might face hitters as soon as Monday in San Diego.
"Penny is a day or two behind Saito, but they both seem to be doing extremely good," pitching coach Rick Honeycutt said. "Penny's arm slot is consistent and the ball is coming out of his hand extremely nice. And he feels he's throwing only 70 percent."
Honeycutt said it hasn't been determined if Penny will return as a starter or reliever. It would be difficult for him to build arm strength to pitch deep into a game as a starter and Greg Maddux was acquired to fill his spot in the rotation. Using Penny out of the bullpen is still a possibility.
"As long as we continue to see progression and see that he feels good and has confidence and is healthy, we've got flexibility," Honeycutt said. "Right now, it's too early to tell."
Shortstop Rafael Furcal was expected to rejoin the club after rehabilitating from back surgery in Arizona, but Torre said it wasn't clear when Furcal would be seen in game action.
"He's been gone so long, he's rehabbed a number of times. We just have to see how he feels," Torre said. "Stan [Conte, trainer] went to Arizona [Wednesday] to watch him go through workouts and he handled it all. We have to look from the mental side. It has to be tough for him to say he trusts this thing. Physically he seems to be all right."
Torre said Jeff Kent continues to report significant improvement after his Tuesday knee surgery. Kent will accompany the club on its three-city trip beginning Monday in San Diego, but Torre said it was still too soon to tell whether Kent will return this season, even for pinch-hitting.
"We'll see how far he comes," Torre said. "I don't think he even knows that. Give him a week or so and see where he's at."
Juan Pierre, who left Tuesday night's game with back spasms, was back at full strength, according to Torre.
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