Russell Martin is now officially gone, as he has signed a one-year contract with the New York Yankees. The financial details are not yet known, but if I had to guess, I think the deal is less than the $5 million Martin was seeking with the Dodgers. The Yankees and Dodgers were working on a deal for Martin in the days leading up to the non-tender deadline, which reportedly involved catcher Francisco Cervelli coming to Los Angeles, per the New York Times. That deal fell through, which leads me to believe the Yankees didn't want to pay Martin the $5.5 to $6 million he would have likely received in salary arbitration. Or perhaps they had strong feelings that the Dodgers were inclined to non-tender Martin anyway, so the Yankees didn't want to give up a player for someone they could simply sign on the free agent market.
Either way, good luck in the Bronx, Russ. You will be missed.
*****
The full performance bonus details of Vicente Padilla's contract have been revealed, thanks to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. In addition to his $2 million base salary, Padilla can earn up to $6.8 million in relief incentives, or up to $8 (or $9) million in starting incentives:
Relief Incentives
- $250,000 for each of 40 and 50 relief appearances
- $500,000 for each of 60, 70, and 80 relief appearances (there have been five Dodgers to pitch 80 games since 2000)
- $750,000 for each of 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, and 55 games finished
- $150,000 for each of 35 and 45 games in "which he enters games with the Dodgers leading by three or fewer runs" (this is by far my favorite Dodger performance bonus to date)
Starting Incentives
- $1 million for 12 starts and 70 innings pitched as a starter*
- $1 million for each of 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, and 33 starts
*I'm not sure if Padilla gets $1 million for 12 starts and $1 million for 70 innings as a starter, or if it is just $1 million combined for hitting both. If it is indeed $1 million for each, Padilla would have a potential for $9 million in starting bonuses, instead of $8 million.
Gurnick also notes all the incentives for Padilla are deferred without interest, to an unspecified date.
Tying this all together, Paul Quantrill, who had two of the five 80-games-pitched seasons since 2000 for the Dodgers, was also the last Dodger free agent to sign with the Yankees, when Quantrill did so after 2003.