The Pirates and Yankees have been discussing an A.J. Burnett trade recently, and yesterday we learned that Pittsburgh is reportedly willing to take on $10MM of the $33MM left on his contract. The Yankees are looking for a 50-50 split, however. Garrett Jones is off the table as well. Here's the latest on the right-hander…
- According to a source, there's a good chance that a deal sending Burnett to Pittsburgh gets done, tweets Mark Feinsand of of the New York Daily News.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter) that the Pirates are one of four teams in on Burnett, but the Yankees feel the Buccos make the "most sense" as a trade partner. One of those four teams is on Burnett's no-trade list, which reportedly includes ten West Coast clubs.
Matt Weaver
50-50 split… Excuse me while I die of laughter.
Jake White
Not too ridiculous, Burnett’s probably a decent value at around $8M per year, which is what a 50/50 split would do… at worst, he eats innings, and his peripherals aren’t terrible… only to improve moving from AL to NL, from the best division in baseball to a lousy one.
Matt Weaver
I just hope New York doesn’t expect to get any players of value in return if it’s a 50-50 split.
Todd Smith
Even if the Pirates only pick up $10MM, I wouldn’t expect any players of value back.
jljr222
If someone does agree to it though, then you’ve just wasted a good laugh :(.
Matt Weaver
No worries, they’re a renewable resource. I’ve learned as a Pirates fan that if you can’t laugh, there’s not much else to live for.
Ian_Smell
Well you know, other than the Steelers and Penguins.
Hal_Jordan77
He said Pirates fan. Not Pittsburgh fan.
Chris
actually in my eyes the pirates didnt do to bad starting out last year. they went until what late june in the top 3 in the division? their improving, even if it is slowly but still improving.
Todd Smith
They were actually in first place on July 25th. Fell to 4th place in the division on August 7th.
Todd Smith
On a side note… The Pirates were in first place on July 25th. The 19 inning game against Atlanta with the Jerry Meals blown call was on July 26th. The Pirates went on to lose 11 of their next 12 games after that blown call. Makes you wonder if things could have gone differently if they win that game.
Chris
thank you, so proves my point they were not that bad last year. and with burnett maybe it could help them compete in the division. because they have some good hitters in Tabata,Alverez, Mcgehee, Barmes, mccutchen and Jones (off an on) lol
WrigleyTerror37
never forget WALKER!
Chris
if the yankees are going to be eating most of burnetts contract they do deserve atleast one player for him. doesnt have to be one of pittsburghs top prospects but someone in return wouldnt hurt. Pedro Alverez would do lol. send Nunez or ramiro Pena to pittsburgh with burnett and the yankees taking on all but 10 million of burnetts contract would be almost fair. maybe send phelps or warren with them. it would give the pirates a young Utility player in nunez or pena, a young SP and a veteran SP for a young 3B that could take over for Arod in a year or two while Arod moves to DH.
keep in mind this is so pirate fans can have a good laugh right now. this is not to be taken serious.
bigsweens38
hopefully the bucs make this deal,if we could just get lee to agree to a one year deal we’d have a pretty nice team in the nl central.
Matt Weaver
I think Lee’s made it clear that he’d rather not play at all than suit up for the Pirates. I’d love to see him back in Pittsburgh, I just don’t think it’ll happen.
bigsweens38
burnett and lee have been very good friends since their days in florida and i think lee realizes he won’t see more then what the pirates offered.
Smrtbusnisman04
I think they’ll be fine with a platoon of Garrett Jones/Pedro ALvarez and Casey Mcgehee.
I really hope the Bucs make this deal.
bigpat
I don’t want Derrek Lee on the team. They need to employ players who actually want to be there. Lee and Oswalt can go fishing together telling stories about the glory days when they were still playing baseball.
stewie75
i’m dying of laughter just from the fact that AJ Burnett rumors are being tracked by the day.
pirates20
This is utter idiocy to me too. I suppose it’s because of the pirates being in on him. Not often a player of burnetts caliber gets dealt to the pirates regardless of his regression in recent years. All in all I hope it gets done just so everytime I turn to mlbtr it’s not the only thing worthy of reading about on the digest.
brian310
I hope the white Sox are one of those 4…they can use some rotation depth and can move some bad money around
MauerPower
I do too. His 12.96 ERA against the AL Central last season is right where it should be.
brian310
He would effect only his starts whereas Dunn batted in the middle of the lineup almost every game striking out in critical situations only hitting homeruns when they didn’t matter
Rabbitov
I know you are trying to bash Dunn, but whatever he did bad last year is countered by his winning smile.
Nick Deale
Twins last place in the AL Central, right where they should be.
MauerPower
I knew that if I posted that comment, I’d get negative feedback.
Chris
sorry to say mauerpower and dont take this as an insult but aslong as the twins are under mauers big bust contract and have an concussed morneau that team isnt going anywhere. The twins really ruined that team and any hopes of winning the post season with the mauer contract though. no one will even want to trade for him. so for that i am sorry they put you fans through all of that.
jhfdssdaf
The Yankees want someone to take on salary, not pick up more bad salary in return.
stewie75
as a cubs fan, i also hope the white sox are one of those 4.
brian310
Yeah because the Sox are in the NL central and what the Sox do effects the cubs…
stewie75
it’s called a rivalry. i love the inflection in hawk harrelson’s voice when the opposing team hits a home run or the white sox make an error.
Alex 18
Yeah because there’s no such thing as the South Side-North Side rivalry and Cubs fans definitely don’t want the White Sox to make a move that would make them worse…
Jason
affects not effects
Nick Deale
You have got to be out of your mind, you sound like a Sox hater if you suggest they try to trade for A.J. Burnett. The Sox already have enough rotation depth without trading for Burnett and furthermore why add on another bad contract? The Sox already have enough bad conracts with Rios, Dunn and Peavy.
brian310
Not like I stated above “move bad money” or anything
User 4245925809
I doubt Cashman is considering accepting Adam Dunn for him.. However… If the NYY had an open DH slot.. Dunn could hit 50HR in that stadium…
Timothy J. Franklin Williams
Yanks are looking for a DH but I dont see it happening.
Chris
they do have an open DH slot for a left handed bat, but they wont take on Dunns contract, if that was the case they would sign damon for his 8+ million dollar contract he wants.
MB923
Yankees are better off signing Damon or Ibanez than trading Burnett for Dunn.
User 4245925809
Agreed.. Dunn would hit mammoth shots at NY, but if they can get any salary relief and some kind of replacement for Swish after the season (if they let him leave) they would be better off.
Chris
they would be better off making a trade with the dodgers for andre ethier then.
MB923
Or a trade with the Angels for Abreu but I think if they did that the Yankees would ask the Angels to pay some of their contract.
jljr222
Roy Oswalt who?
User 4245925809
How can we forget about good old Roy around here of late.
YanksFanSince78
My guess is, like EJax, he doesn’t want to go to Pit.
j6takish
I bet the Pirates end up taking on around 10mm. The Yankees need his rotation spot, and the Pirates need someone to take innings away from Kevin Correia
Nick Deale
The Yankees already have a full rotation without Burnett (Sabathia, Nova, Pineda, Garcia and Hughes or whoever for their 5th spot. I would dump Burnett in a heartbeat. They have one of the most ridiculous ran front offices in baseball, if I was the owner of the Yankees there is no way Randy Levine or Brian Cashman would have jobs with the team.
a36Martz
amazing how almost any one remembers Kuroda …
Joshua Jongsma
Actually Kuroda is in there too so even with Burnett gone they still have six guys for five sports, which wouldn’t be a bad thing
Chris
you forgot kuroda who more then likely will be slotted in the number 2 spot in the rotation. on their website it says they dont believe pineda is ready for the number 2 spot and is better fit at number 4.
MB923
I’d put Pineda ahead of Nova
MB923
And I’m sure Kenny Williams is a genius to you, right?
YanksFanSince78
Why, because he signed a good FA who had a good performance track record and then didn’t perform up to par? I think there are plenty of other good GMs that have had the same problem.
Todd Smith
Maybe the Pirates could platoon Correia on the road and Burnett at home. Correia had a 2.64 ERA on the road last year, and Burnett has a career 2.37 ERA at PNC.
😀
PirateHopeful84
Derek Lee won’t sign with the Pirates…if we would give up Jones(which the rumors now are that we won’t), there’s going to be a hole at 1st base. I say the Pirates should take on from $10-13 million of the money owed to Burnett. What else do we got to lose?!
stewie75
i’d say what you have to lose would be about $10-13 million.
BitLocker
Do the Pirates even have the payroll to take on 11+M?
Diablo 2
AJ to Buccos for Jones? HA made my day
chenzo
Get a case of beer for him and call it even! freakin head case! Its not if he falls apart, its when!!
john12121212
I don’t get it, such an enigmatic pitcher, ugh for any price!
Jonny Dollar
I would like to see the Cubs send Soriano, a couple of young pitchers, and eat the salary between Burnett’s 33 million and Soriano’s 57 million. The Yankees get a DH, some young pitching, and the Cubs get a guy who could be good in the NL Central, and a much needed spot opened up in the outfield for better National League type players.
baseballdude
is that supposed to be a joke?
Jonny Dollar
The Cubs are going to eat most of his salary anyway. We get another pitcher, with experience, who might have a little bit left and we get rid of an aging outfielder not suited for the National League. Soriano would probably hit well with the Yankees and Burnett could conceivably rebound for the Cubs. Burnett is probably considered to have more value than Sori, being a pitcher, so the Cubs would maybe have to throw a little bit in to make happen. I’ve not seen too many better deals suggested to get rid of Sori that brings a potential top notch pitcher in return.
YanksFanSince78
Not a bad idea but I seriously doubt Theo would give up a pitcher with a ceiling above that of a middle relief guy. I wonder what the consensus is of Soriano’s annual salary worth? How much would most teams value him at if he were a free agent?
Chris
yankees want a LEFT HANDED DH not another righty, they already have that in andrew jones and awhole lot cheaper
Jonny Dollar
No problem. Sign Raul Ibanez for 1 million and let them compete in spring training. Injuries happen often. A little back up isn’t a bad thing.
llasasso93
Ibanez probably won’t sign for that cheap.
YanksFanSince78
at this point, he would have to. where’s the market for him right now?
soxin10
This inning eating thng is still confusing me. I can eat innings for much less than 5-8 million per, much less 15-16 mill per. All you have to do is put on a blind fold and leave me in the game….like the Yankees did with Burnett, or the Sox with Lackey. I’ll give you 200 innings , 350 hits, 210 walks, 5 strikeouts,whip of 3.60, era of 16.00 and still win 10 games for the Yankees or the red sox.
MB923
I still don’t use innings pitched as a reliable stat. Innings pitched = Managerial decision.
nictonjr
5 strikeouts?? Soriano strikeouts 6 times in tee ball games. You sell yourself short…
Alex Grady
Why why WHYYY is Garrett Jones out of the question? He’s not that gooooooood. Jones for Burnett and $24MM, let’s get this over with.
EnPutiza
Why not pay a bit extra so the Bucs can keep their first baseman. They have other options, but none better than Jones at this point.
jamesa-2
Plenty of folks are asking the same thing. If moving Jones will nab the Pirates a Burnett for $5-8MM/yr, then the Pirates are comning out on top. There is no reason to suspect that AJB in the NL Central is going to be as shaky as he is playing in hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium in the AL East.
At that cost, all they need is about 1.5 WAR to call it even, and Burnett over the last three years has averaged just over 1.1 WAR already. If there is any improvement, 1.5 WAR is a lock.
MB923
If you take FanGraphs dollar amount seriously, 1.5 WAR is approximately $7.5 million, and there’s no way the Pirates would take $15 mil ($7.5 mil per year) of the remainder of AJ’s contract
jamesa-2
Agreed, not very likely that they take on $15 MM. Though asking them to take on $12MM is not unreasonable. If the Pirates get him for $10 MM, then it’s almost a flat-out steal.
Alex Grady
Why why WHYYY is Garrett Jones out of the question? He’s not that gooooooood. Jones for Burnett and $24MM, let’s get this over with.
Andy Frank
10 west coast teams? must be counting AAA too
Adam Moreira
I think that what is meant is the AL and NL West and possibly 1 other team—travel schedules in the Western divisions are murder.
cano24
AJ’s wife is afraid of flying, and they live in Maryland, so it’s probably the 10 teams furthest from there.
Andy Frank
10 west coast teams? must be counting AAA too
John S
The Yankees receive 10 million dollars of salary relief and a scrub prospect.
The Pirates receive Burnett.
The Pirates are saving the Yankees 8 figures and Burnett is a sunk cost. There is no logical reason to add Jones to this deal.
As for another four teams, this is the Yankees trying to work the Pirates. I doubt the Pirates fall for the old imaginary suitor game.
Chris
no they feel the yankees are the best suitors for the trade because no other team is actually willing to take on any of AJ Burnetts salary, unlike the pirates.
LordD99 2
This is just about the money for the Yankees. I don’t think they really care if they get anything back. I’m sure they’re asking for a player back to use that as a negotiating tactic, eventually settling on a couple more million dollars. Burnett doesn’t have a spot in the Yankees, but he can still go out and start 30+ games and deliver 190+ innings for some team. Move him out of the AL East and to the DH-less league, and he probably can deliver league-average innings. That’s worth $5-7 million in this day and age.
Goose
Hey, AJ! West Coast is the Best Coast.
slider32
I think AJ’s home is Maryland, that’s why he doesn’t want to go to the West Coast.
Steven Yurek
how long until the deal gets done…?
YanksFanSince78
is it all a possibility that the Yanks could add “non top 100” package of prospects to the deal, eat the $23 mil the Pirates are asking and get Alvarez back too?
Something like…..
AJ + David Phelps + Brandon Laird + Corban Joseph/David Adams + $23 mil for Pedro Alvarez + Gorkys Hernadez/Yamaico Navarro ?
Nate
So…your junk pitcher, a package of “non top 100″/aka junk prospects, and cash for Alvarez (who people are counting out waaaaay too soon…its barely been one full season for him and who’s remaining upside trumps EVERYTHING else in the deal, AND an outfield prospect and SS?
levendis
no; theres no possibility. No reason to give up on Alvarez so quickly. That deal makes no sense for the pirates. The Yankees have to stop being hard headed and take the 10 mil the Bucs are offering for him and let him go. They’re not going to get anyone in value in return
Joel Flint
The Yankees send Burnett to Pittsburgh for Starling Marte, and the Pirates take on 8-10 million of AJ’s contract. Pittsburgh gets an innings eater in Burnett, who could have a VERY good year in the NL Central. He wont have to face Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder, which will be a bonus as most of the Pirates games will come against their NL Central opponents. The Yankees get a solid young outfield prospect who could concievably replace Nick Swisher at seasons end and save the team another boat load of dollars on signing or trading for Andre Ethier who, while he has solid skills, is also becoming injury prone.