Martinez and Phillies agree to 1-year deal

Pedro Martinez is returning to the major leagues.

Martinez has agreed to a one-year, $1-million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday night.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner was in Philadelphia for a physical, and the Phillies planned to hold a news conference today, according to the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because an official announcement hadn’t been made.

Martinez, 37, can earn up to $1.5 million in incentives. The eight-time All-Star will need to make at least a few starts in the minors before joining Philadelphia’s depleted rotation. He was 5-6 with a 5.61 earned-run average for the New York Mets last year and pitched in the World Baseball Classic before this season.

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Selig has minor issue with Ramirez

Count Commissioner Bud Selig among those who didn’t think it was fair the Dodgers’ Manny Ramirez was able to play in the minor leagues while serving a 50-game suspension for violating baseball’s drug policy.

Phillies left-hander J.C. Romero was also able to rehabilitate in the minors while serving a 50-game suspension at the start of the 2009 season. But Selig said he hoped the next labor agreement changed those terms.

“It’s a tough thing; that’s a negotiated settlement,” Selig said. “But that should be changed. . . . A guy should sit the full 50 games and then do what he has to do to get ready to play.”

Ramirez played five games in the minors at the end of his suspension.

Selig said he hasn’t been surprised by the positive response from Dodgers fans to Ramirez, who has yet to play a home game since his return July 3.

“Fans, they want their teams to win,” he said. “This player has been disciplined, he’s back, they’re in first place and he can help them win.”

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Selig: No collusion

Seemingly daring player agents to pursue a possible collusion case against baseball, Selig denied their claims in the strongest terms.

“Given the world we live in and what has happened in the last 18 months, I think this is one sport where I can’t even fathom that anybody could think that,” he said. “Player compensation hasn’t gone down.”

Selig asked labor chief Rob Manfred about the average player salary. After Manfred replied $3.2 million, Selig said, “I rest my case!”

A group of agents is becoming more vocal in asserting last winter’s slow free-agent signing period was the result of a manipulated marketplace.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report from Philadelphia.

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