FORT MYERS, Fla. -- He has had to take it slow. There was the postponement of a bullpen session. And his first two times throwing with fielders behind him came with minor leaguers wearing the gloves. 

To those not knowing any better, the perception might be that Brad Penny has hit a road bump in a contract year. But truth be told, compared to last season, the path couldn't have been any smoother.

"Last year isn't the way I pitch, obviously. I was trying to throw through it when I shouldn't have," Penny said. "I was hurt the whole spring last year. I didn't throw a pain-free bullpen or a pain-free game in all of spring training last year. I tried to pitch through it. It was one step forward, two steps back. It's nice to go out there and not worry about those things." 

Penny never scaled it back last spring, only pausing to get an MRI that the Dodgers didn't deem alarming enough to pull back the reigns on the big righty. He got to Opening Day, and even carried a 4-2 mark with a 2.89 ERA into May. But the approach would ultimately catch up to him, leaving Penny with his worst season as a major leaguer and LA's decision not to pick up his $8.75 million team option. It was painful, in more ways than one. 

"I started the season hurting the whole time, then the velocity went down from there," Penny explained. "I didn't take time off when I should have. I was in an option year, so you know." 

Now Penny is back at it, facing the next crossroads of a nine-year big league career thanks to his one-year deal with the Red Sox. But this time the starter is heeding the lessons learned from his first go-round with contractural desperation, starting with understanding health comes first. 

"Absolutely," said Penny when asked if he currently felt better than at any time last season. "Not even close ... I'm not worried about showing people. You don't forget how to pitch. It just doesn't happen overnight." 

Those Red Sox followers unfamiliar with exactly how successful Penny has been over the years ("He should have been the MVP of the 2003 World Series, not me," said Sox pitcher Josh Beckett) might have questioned the merits of the hurler's approach. That line of thinking, however, should have been seriously dented after watching the starter pitch against Minnesota Twins Single A players at the Red Sox minor league facility Wednesday.  

Penny tossed 41 pitches (30 strikes), faced 11 batters, surrendered one run on one hit and struck out four. It continued what has been an encouraging progression for the Sox' projected fifth starter, whose first outing was a 33-pitch affair against Red Sox minor leaguers in which his fastball topped out at 92 mph. This time around, according to Red Sox general manager, the heater hit 95 mph, nicely complementing Penny's improved command. 

"It's a definite step in the right direction and he continues to make really good progress," Epstein said. "I think he really turned a corner about 10 days, two weeks ago after that one time he had a hard time getting loose. All the signs have been really positive since then." 

"I think today was significantly improved over his outing five days ago," said Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell, who said if all goes well Penny will next pitch against the Tigers at City of Palms Park on March 23. "I thought his arm strength and command of his fastball was improved. His velocity was improved over his previous time, which again is a benchmark, not an end-all. ... Getting up and down three times for the three innings today was primarily the goal to get him close to 45 pitches." 

For the Red Sox, days like Wednesday might come to be viewed as important steps towards gaining a valuable addition to an already robust rotation. And for Penny the afternoon might just serve as a checkpoint in what he hopes is a journey back into recognition as one of the game's best. 

"Even if I was to get hurt, they gave me the best opportunity," said Penny, calling some of the shoulder exercises implemented by the Red Sox as "stuff I've never even seen before." "They put me in the best position to succeed." 

Rob Bradford is the Sited Editor for WEEI.com. He can be reached at rbradford@weei.com.