BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Martinez Arrives; Contract Doesn’t

Ramon Martinez began his spring workouts in Vero Beach, Fla., Tuesday without a new deal.

“I won’t say I’m happy,” Martinez said. “I’m trying not to think about it too much.”

The Dodgers will probably have to unilaterally renew his contract at about $725,000, the highest salary ever paid to a player who is not eligible for arbitration. Martinez is seeking a deal in the $1-million range.

“We have put Ramon at the top of the list in his service class (two years-plus),” said Fred Claire, Dodger vice president. “Once you are on top, where do you go from there?”

Claire said that he will stick with the Dodgers’ policy of renewing players on the day before the first spring game, which means Martinez will be renewed March 4 if he does not sign beforehand. Baseball’s deadline for renewal is March 11.

Last season Martinez held out for 11 days before signing a $485,000 contract. In 1990, he was renewed at $150,000.

Martinez said he is not fighting with the Dodgers over money because he will be eligible for arbitration next season.

“After this year, we will not have any problems,” he said.

Proving once again that he can make news by merely showing up, Darryl Strawberry raised eyebrows without even taking the field.

Bored because he could not take batting practice until today, Strawberry and a couple of friends played basketball on the Dodgertown court.

“I can just see it now,” one veteran said. “Strawberry goes up, he grabs a big rebound, he comes down . . . and ohhhh, there goes his knee!”

Strawberry said he was simply fooling around.

“I’m just trying to keep my legs in shape, it was nothing big,” he said.

The competition at first base became more heated when early arriving Mitch Webster announced that he was also a candidate. “I can never come to camp accepting a bench job,” said Webster, who is scheduled to be the Dodgers’ top right-handed pinch-hitter. “I am going to plant myself over at first base and stay there until they run me off.” . . . Ron Roenicke, a former Dodger reserve outfielder, will replace Joe Ferguson as the coach who charts the opposition from the press box during the game. . . . This is the first time brothers Ramon and Pedro Martinez have been listed as playing on the same team. Other notable Dodger brother combinations include Mack and Zack Wheat (1915-1919), Lloyd and Paul Waner (1944), Larry and Norm Sherry (1959-62) and Steve and Dave Sax (1982-83).