Burnett trade to Pirates confirmed

[Goober]

Apparently the Pirates have been talking to New York about possibly acquiring AJ Burnett, if the price is right. Would you be willing to take Burnett for the next two years?

The contract is big, but the Yankees will most likely end up paying for most of it still, and the stuff is still there. Burnett has ace stuff, just no command. And there's no way that HR rate stays as high as it was in 2011. If you take him out of the AL East, and put him in a big ball park like PNC, you'd probably have a pretty good pitcher. Especially considering the state of NL Central hitters. It's worth a shot considering the Pirates would be paying him about the same as the Royals are paying Bruce Chen, no?

Thoughts?

[killgod]

At a cheap rate I guess, I mean it's the Pirates so that's about as good as it gets for them.

Although I don't see him busting his ass off to pitch his best in a non competitive environment.

[NAHSTE]

If I'm a team like the Pirates and I only have to cover 1/4 of the total contract, sure why not? He eats innings and misses bats (sometimes). Couldn't hurt if the contract isn't an issue, which it won't be from what it sounds like.

[FedEx227]

If the Yankees are footing most of the bill, why not? He has talent, he's proven that before. The risk/reward is great if you only end up paying a very small chunk of his contract.

[Warner2BruceTD]

I was talking about this with Kuzzy in the chatbox last night, and I agree with everybody here.

If the Yankees are playing most of the salary, there is a lot of potential upside to stashing him in the back end of your rotation. I wouldn't give up anything of real value, but if the Yankees are really just interested in dumping him, it's a good low risk move for a team like the Pirates.

[Swarley]

In this specific situation, yes. Would I trade for him in general for my team? Fuck no.

[Guest]

How does he have ace stuff, but without command? You've got to have command to have ace stuff.......just throwing that out there, though I know what you are trying to say.

He actually would have been a better move for the Nats than Edwin Jackson I think, and that would be a better competitive environment than Pittsburgh.

Its actually very possible that Burnett will end up with the Orioles. With all the rumors years ago and no transaction, the Orioles will pull a Vladimir Guerrero and acquire him now. I joke of course, and don't want that to happen, but you never know.

[Villain]

If the Yankees take the majority of his contract (as I've read they would) and it doesn't cost much in prospects then I would do it. The NL West is a great place to bring your ERA down and he'd have to be better a better option than Capuano or Harang. 2 years isn't so bad.

Yankee Stadium is a brutal environment. Coming to a place like LA would lower pressure and allow him to focus more on basics (which is usually one of the first things new pitching coaches make you do). His expectations would be low and pitching in the stadiums in LA, SD, and SF can bail you out of some pitching mistakes. Nothing like a warning track catch made after the fly ball was killed by an ocean breeze.

Other than that scenario (basically the one that brings him for free), I'm not interested. Dodgers have good arms that will be coming up in the system soon enough.

[Warner2BruceTD]

FOUR teams in on Burnett now.

[NAHSTE]

He's still got that weird hangup about playing near his wife's hometown in Maryland, so Pittsburgh or Baltimore would probably be his preferred destination.

[Warner2BruceTD]

Yesterday we learned that four teams are in on A.J. Burnett, but the Yankees feel that the Pirates are the best match. One of those four clubs is on Burnett's no-trade list, which reportedly includes ten West Coast clubs. Here's the latest on Burnett and the Yanks..

The Yankees likely will pay $19-23MM of $33MM remaining on Burnett’s contract and receive multiple minor leaguers in return, according to a source with knowledge of the discussions, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Those prospects would not be players on the Pirates’ 40-man roster, the source said.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter) guesses that two of the other teams in on Burnett are the Royals and Indians. The Indians could defray some money by dealing Travis Hafner, who is owed roughly $15MM between 2012 and his '13 buyout.
The Pirates are more concerned about prospects than money, so they're more likely to compromise on the amount of money they'll pay Burnett, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.
It's doubtful that a deal will be completed today, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
The Yankees don't love the two minor leaguers that the Pirates offered for Burnett, tweets Heyman. Heyman still thinks that a deal gets done with the Pirates paying $13-15MM of the $33MM owed to Burnett.
The Yankees know they can make a Burnett deal with the Pirates but they first want to make sure that nothing else is available before pulling the trigger, tweets Sherman. All signs point to the Yankees moving Burnett in the coming days and trying to sign Eric Chavez and a left-handed DH with the money saved (Twitter link).
The Bucs and Yankees have a framework for a possible deal in place, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The deal is not done but the two teams have a lot of common ground and Pittsburgh is still the frontrunner, Olney tweets.

[Goober]

Lol at Buster Olney tweeting that if the Pirates get Burnett, Bedard would be the odd man out.

[Guest]

He's still got that weird hangup about playing near his wife's hometown in Maryland, so Pittsburgh or Baltimore would probably be his preferred destination.

Can't see Baltimore trading for him. We've already maxed out the pitchers I think Duquette wants to bring with him, and Burnett wouldn't even be assured of a spot in the rotation, or at the very least, would have to fight for it with everyone else.

[Warner2BruceTD]

The Yankees and Pirates have been discussing a deal that would send A.J. Burnett and cash to Pittsburgh for two minor league players. Four teams are in on the right-hander, but the Yankees seem to prefer the Pirates. Here are the details from yesterday, and here are Monday's rumors:

Joel Sherman of the New York Post hears the Yankees would do the deal if the Pirates took on more than $13MM in salary (Twitter links). So far the Pirates are offering $10MM in salary relief and two "blah" prospects, but there's a feeling the deal will get done.

The Yankees and Pirates are still discussing the deal and it'll probably be completed, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. It seems likely that the Pirates will take on $13-15MM of the $33MM remaining on Burnett's contract and give up two non-roster players.


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I'm fascinated by this story for some reason. I really think the Pirates should do this. It sounds like the two players are just warm bodies, so why not?

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

Burnett would be a top of the rotation player for them. I think he'll have a nice bounce back season for Pittsburgh. Yeah, Pittsburgh sucks, but its a pretty relaxed place to go play (in comparison to NY, its night and day) where you can just go out there and pitch without having every pitch examined by everybody in the stadium.

If I were the Pirates, I'd be pretty damn happy about getting Burnett for that cheap and giving up barely warm bodies. The Yankees are just happy to get him out of town.