BONUS BATTLE

Yankees don’t intend to pay A-Rod for ‘milestone’ home runs

ALEX RODRIGUEZ inched closer to one of baseball’s hallowed records Thursday night — and even closer to another legal battle.

Rodriguez hit the 655th home run of his career in a 6-3 loss to the Blue Jays, moving to within five homers of Willie Mays on the all-time home run list. He trails Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714) and Mays (660), and is a few fastballs away from triggering a marketing clause that would theoretically pay him millions in milestone bonuses. The first of those bonuses — each move up the ladder is for $6 million — kicks in if he ties Mays.

The Yankees, however, are expected to refuse to pay Rodriguez the bonuses outlined in the agreement, which is separate from A-Rod’s guaranteed player contract, and are prepared to head to arbitration to void the deal. The Daily News first reported the Yankees’ plans to nullify the agreement in January.

According to a source familiar with the agreement, signed in 2007 after Rodriguez agreed to re-up with the Yankees, it is up to the club to declare ARod’s accomplishments “milestones,” which they will not do.

“They say the records are tainted,” the source said, “and therefore they’re not milestones that can be marketed.”

A-Rod can grieve the decision not to pay him, leaving the decision up to an arbitrator. As The News has reported, the Players’ Association has said it will support Rodriguez in arbitration, even though he sued the union for not adequately defending him during his contentious battle with MLB over his historic season-long suspension last year.

According to the source, the Yankees would then have to show an arbitrator they acted in good faith in declining to pay the bonuses. The timing of a hearing would be up to Rodriguez and the union, although it is unlikely they would want to schedule it in the middle of the season.

“The steroids stuff will all come up again,” said the source. “It’s doubtful he wants that.”