Pedro Martinez's cock-fighting days are over. He's finally returning to the majors... well, eventually.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner agreed to a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Phillies Wednesday worth $1 million, with incentives that could reach $1.5 million. Aaaaaand he's already hurt. The team has placed him directly on the 15-day disabled list with a mild shoulder strain, with no word on a rehab assignment as of yet.
.jpg) The 37-year-old right-hander went 5-6 with a 5.61 ERA for the New York Mets last season, a year after recording his 3,000th career strikeout. While pitching for the Dominican Republic in this year's World Baseball Classic, he worked six scoreless innings, striking out six and walking none. Pedro is 214-99 lifetime with a 2.91 ERA in 17 big league seasons between the Los Angeles Dodgers, Montreal Expos, Boston Red Sox and Mets. Not bad.
And apparently, he can still throw the ball in the lower-90s. That I'm going to need to see to believe. I'll give him 87 mph at best, which is where his velocity was at last season.
"I might surprise you, I might not," Pedro told the press. "It’s going to be really fun to go find out."
The defending World Series champs' starting rotation has been troubled a bit by injuries this season, with #2 starter Brett Myers undergoing hip surgery last month before his replacement, Antonio Bastardo, landed on the DL after just five starts. In fact, Philly has already used nine different starters up to the All-Star break.
This is a pretty sweet deal for the Phillies, since they're getting a Hall-of-Fame-bound hurler for just a million bucks. He'll fill some seats and maybe even give the club a few extra wins for padding. They currently sit four games ahead of the Florida Marlins in the National League East and are possibly looking for a replacement for struggling, aging lefty Jamie Moyer, who pretty much sucks this season.
Half-assed fantasy advice: If you're in an NL-only league, I guess Pedro could be worth adding to your roster. As previously mentioned, he's definitely going to spend some time in the minors before pitching in the big leagues again, so if you need pitching now, he's not your answer. Look for a decent wins total with the stacked Phils lineup behind him, but no more than five or six innings per start these days.
Welcome back, Pedro!
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