Phillies Sign Pedro Martinez, Place Him On Disabled List

The rumors have been circulating for a while now, but on Wednesday morning the Philadelphia Phillies made it official and announced that they've signed future Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez. As for when Martinez will make his first start in a Phillies uniform, well, we're going to have to wait at least 15 more days to find out.

That's because along with announcing the deal the Phillies also announced that they've placed Martinez on the 15-day disabled list with a mild right shoulder strain. The Phillies will send Martinez on a quick minor-league rehab assignment before deciding on when he'll make his debut.

The deal is for one-year and $1 million but Martinez can earn an additional $1.5 million in incentives.

This signing is one of necessity for the defending champs, because even though they've got a four-game lead on the Florida Marlins in the NL East, they've also been ravaged by injuries to their starting rotation. Brett Myers underwent hip surgery in June and then his replacement, Antonio Bastardo, made five starts for the Phillies before having to go on the disabled list with his own shoulder strain at the end of June.

Of course, what many Phillies fans are probably wondering at this point is whether or not this signing takes them out of the running to land Toronto Blue Jays starter Roy Halladay. Well, while I don't know for sure, I'm going to say that no it has not. Sure Martinez is a nice insurance policy for the team to have, but he's no Roy Halladay.

Adding Halladay to their rotation makes the team a lot stronger than it already is and I fully expect them to continue pursuing him.