The Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Roberto Hernandez Heredia, formerly known as Fausto Carmona was arrested on Jan. 19 in the Dominican Republic outside the U.S consulate for falsifying his identity. During that process he went from being 28 to in reality being 31 and the Indians have since taken action and have restructured his contract, which is reflective of how the team feels he will now perform this season and is in response to his illegal actions that landed him in a Dominican Republic jai. Before he was busted for falsifying his identity to be more attractive to MLB teams, Heredia was 3 years younger and was becoming a more reliable pitcher for the Indians. Hernandez was set to make $7 million this year and had options for $9 million in 2013 and $12 million in 2014. The Indians still don't know if Heredia will even pitch for them this season or ever because he is still having VISA issues back in the Dominican Republic.
The Dominican Republic dropped the charges against Heredia after he completed a work program in which he met with young ball players and discouraged them from falsifying their identities and committing the same mistake he did in order to play in the U.S. He has since said he knew what he was doing was wrong but was "scared to reveal what happened" after other players were caught.
Under the terms of his new restructured contract, Heredia will make $2.5 million as a base salary in 2012 and can earn an additional $2.7 million in performance and roster bonuses. These incentives include: $200,000 when he reaches 20,23 and 26 starts and for 150, 170 and 185 innings. In addition , he'll get $250,000 for 95 days on the roster and then $250,000 for every 15 days up until 165. The team also reduced his 2013 option to $6 million. He can earn $3 million in additional bonuses as well.
Currently he is on MLB's restricted list, which is for players that have a contractual obligation to the team but for non injured reason are not currently part of the team and may not play in an MLB game. In the meantime he has been training and pitching in the Dominican Republic at the teams academy under the watchful eye of some of the Indians trainers and coaches. The team is hoping Heredia can get his legal issues straightened out in time to help the team this season
Article can be found here: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120327/SPORTS0104/203270361/1004/sports10/Monday-s-baseball-notebook--Indians-slash-pitcher%E2%80%99s-contract
No comments:
Post a Comment