Another Penny shoulder setback

SAN FRANCISCO -- Brad Penny cut short his simulated game Saturday because of discomfort in his right shoulder and has been ruled out from being activated before the All-Star break by Manager Joe Torre. Penny will be examined on Monday by team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache.

“I felt it a little bit,” Penny said of the shoulder pain that landed him on the disabled list last month.

Penny complained of discomfort a few pitches into the fourth inning of his simulated game, but Torre said that trainer Stan Conte didn’t think there was anything structurally wrong with Penny’s shoulder.

Torre said he liked what he saw from Penny until he had to stop throwing.

“He used all his pitches, his curveball, his split, and he didn’t hesitate pitching from the stretch, pitching from the windup,” Torre said.

The Dodgers’ opening day starter, Penny last pitched in a game June 14 in Detroit, where he gave up seven runs in 3 2/3 innings. He said he started experiencing shoulder problems in spring training. He is 5-9 with a 5.88 earned-run average.

Torre said that Chan Ho Park, who started on Saturday because Penny wasn’t ready to be activated, would remain in the rotation up to the All-Star break.

New year, new rumors

With the July 31 trade deadline nearing, Matt Kemp said he expects to once again hear rumors that he could be sent elsewhere. So does James Loney.

“You really don’t pay attention to it,” Loney said. “Some people’s jobs are to speculate what trades could happen or what could be a good fit for a team.

“We have a lot of good young talent and people usually want that in trades.”

Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti said Friday that the emphasis of keeping the club’s young nucleus intact could change “to some extent, perhaps.”

“We can’t control what happens off the field,” Kemp said. “We can only control what happens on the field. If one of us gets traded, it’s just part of baseball.”

Trade speculation involving the Dodgers has started, as the club has already inquired about the availability of Pittsburgh shortstop Jack Wilson and Cleveland pitcher C.C. Sabathia.

Loney said he doesn’t want to see any of the young Dodgers traded. And he doesn’t see why any of them should be.

“As far as the way I’m looking at it, we already have the pieces,” Loney said. “As long as we keep playing hard and working hard, what we have here is a great team.”

Rowand reflects

San Francisco center fielder Aaron Rowand, who grew up in Glendora, said the first game he ever attended was a game at Dodger Stadium between the Dodgers and the Giants.

“The Giants won that day,” Rowand said.

Rowand, who signed a five-year, $60-million contract with the Giants this winter, nearly ended up on the other end of the Dodgers-Giants rivalry.

“They contacted my agent before the Giants did,” Rowand said of the Dodgers.

The interest was mutual, Rowand said, as he wanted to move back to Southern California. Rowand said his agent had a meeting scheduled with Dodgers officials at the winter meetings, but that it never took place.

“They signed Andruw Jones,” Rowand said.

Rowand entered the game Saturday batting .299 with eight home runs and 46 runs batted in.

Short hops

Russell Martin started at third base. Backup catcher Danny Ardoin started his first game in nine days. . . . Sports psychologist Dana Sinclair, who was hired by the Dodgers this spring, has been with the team since Friday. She will return to her home in Toronto today.

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dylan.hernandez@latimes.com