Well, no great surprise!        

AP baseball writer Ronald Blum reports that the money side of the Arizona, “Unit” deal is two years and $26 million.

Johnson must still take a physical and the precise terms of the deal need to be approved by the MLB Commissioner.  It is also reported that the players’ association may also seek to review the restructuring of his contract.

The AP report on ESPN.com is more explicit as to the monetary arrangements under the contract;

“We’re very excited and very happy for Randy, We think it’s a win-win for everybody,” said Alan Nero, who represents Johnson along with Barry Meister. “It was very complex because there was a lot of legal work — it was the third time the contract has been redone. Other than that, I think it went very smoothly.”

Johnson, a 43-year-old left-hander who lives in the Phoenix area, was owed $16 million this year in the final season of his January 2005 contract with the Yankees, a deal that called for $1.5 million to be deferred without interest until 2010.

Because of the cash involved, commissioner Bud Selig must approve the trade. The players’ association also might want to review the restructuring of his contract.

If the trade goes through, Johnson would join an Arizona starting rotation that includes reigning Cy Young winner Brandon Webb, Livan Hernandez and Doug Davis. In their only other major move in the offseason, the Diamondbacks acquired the left-handed Davis from Milwaukee in a six-player deal that sent catcher Johnny Estrada to the Brewers.

His new deal calls for a $12 million signing bonus, of which $3.5 million is payable this year, $500,000 in 2008 and $4 million each in 2009 and 2010, a baseball official with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because the terms weren’t disclosed in Sunday’s announcement. Johnson gets salaries of $4 million this year and $10 million in 2008.

As part of the trade, New York would pay $2 million of Johnson’s salary this year. That means Arizona would be responsible for $24 million: $5.5 million this year, $10.5 million in 2008 and $4 million each in 2009 and 2010.

In addition, the Diamondbacks owe the five-time Cy Young Award winner just over $44 million, including accrued interest, from 2007-12. That money was earned by Johnson when he pitched for Arizona from 1999-2004, winning four Cy Youngs.

The deferred payments and accrued interest owed Johnson by the Diamondbacks boggles the mind.  But it now “appears” that the Yanks, Diamondbacks deal with Randy Johnson is complete.

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This entry was posted on Monday, January 8th, 2007 at 6:50 am and is filed under Real-Time Baseball News and Commentary, Off-Season Deals, Trades, Free Agency, Draft. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.