One of the concerns of the Dodgers trading for Juan Rivera earlier on Tuesday was that the outfielder / first baseman had a hefty salary of $5.25 million this season, and a team 11 games out of a playoff spot, and one in bankruptcy at that, was in no position to take on any salary. However, the Dodgers won't be paying much at all for Rivera's services.
Rivera was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays on July 4, so Toronto didn't have much leverage in that they would have been on the hook for his full remaining salary, roughly $2,266,393 for the rest of the season, had they released him. Per Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun, the Blue Jays are paying all but "roughly $175,000" of Rivera's salary.
With 79 days left in the 183-day regular season, the pro-rated minimum salary ($414,000 for the whole season) is roughly $178,721. Now the only question is, what player (or future cash considerations) will the Dodgers give up. The answer is likely not anyone of note, though we shall see.
"Juan will provide us with a right-handed hitting counterpart to Tony Gwynn Jr. and can also fill in for James Loney from time to time at first base," Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said on Tuesday.
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