In 2002 Tino Martinez signed a contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. He signed a three year contract for $21.5 Million raising his pay to almost $7 Million a year. In the prior year with the Yankees, Martinez hit 34 home runs and drove in 113 runs while batting .280. The Cardinals signed him to replace Mark McGwire.
Almost immediately, his results were disappointing. He went through prolonged slumps during the first two seasons. He batted .262 and .273 with only 21 and 15 home runs, never driving in more than 75 runs.
After those two years, the Cardinals gave up and traded him to Tampa Bay. To make the trade the Cardinals had to agree to pay $7.5 million. This was basically his whole salary for 2004.
The Cardinals paid Martinez $20.75 million. He only played for 2 disappointing seasons. During that time, the man hired to replace Mark McGwire never hit over 21 home runs or drove in more than 75 runs. Finally they ended up paying him $7.5 million to play for another team.
