The New York Yankees' financial obligation in their acquisition of star pitcher Randy Johnson from the Arizona Diamondbacks ballooned to about $57 million yesterday when the team signed the 41-year-old left-hander to a two-year contract extension and Johnson formally waived his no-trade clause to agree to the deal.
Only one more hurdle remains before the Yankees drape the pinstripes over Johnson's lofty shoulders: All parties in the trade must pass physicals.
The Yankees signed Randy Johnson to a two-year contract extension and Johnson formally waived his no-trade clause to agree to the deal.
(Ben Margot - AP)
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Johnson's contract extension, which was considered a formality when the teams agreed to the trade last week, will pay him a combined $32 million in 2006 and 2007; he will be 45 when the contract runs out.
The Yankees also will pay Johnson's 2005 salary of $16 million, $6 million of which is deferred, and will ship $9 million to the Diamondbacks to cover the majority of pitcher Javier Vazquez's $11.5 million salary in 2005.
Commissioner Bud Selig, who must approve any trade in which more than $1 million changes hands, gave his approval on Monday, triggering a 72-hour window for the Yankees to reach agreement on a contract extension in return for Johnson waiving his no-trade clause.
In addition to Vazquez and the cash, the Yankees gave up left-hander Brad Halsey and catching prospect Dioner Navarro to acquire Johnson, a five-time Cy Young Award winner who led the National League in strikeouts in each of the last five seasons.
Meantime, the Diamondbacks' plans to spin Navarro off in a trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers for outfielder Shawn Green fell through yesterday when their 72-hour negotiating window closed without a contract extension. The Diamondbacks had agreed in principle to a deal that would have sent Navarro and pitching prospect William Juarez to the Dodgers for Green and $8 million cash.
Green is owed $16 million in 2005, the final year of a six-year, $84 million deal -- which was negotiated on his behalf in 2000 by his then-agent, Jeff Moorad, who is now the Diamondbacks' CEO-elect. Green is believed to be seeking a three-year contract extension in exchange for waiving his no-trade clause.
The expired negotiating window does not necessarily mean the deal is dead, as the Diamondbacks can request another 72-hour window and make another attempt to negotiate an extension with Green.
The Diamondbacks are also expected to explore opportunities to trade Vazquez to another team, with the Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago White Sox among the leading contenders.
