The Pirates did not extend a one-year, qualifying offer to A.J. Burnett, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter).
Burnett, 37 in January, pitched to a 3.30 ERA with 9.8 K/9 (the highest rate in the National League), 3.2 BB/9 and a 56.2 percent ground-ball rate in 191 innings in his second season with the Pirates. Burnett has publicly stated that his decision this offseason is between returning to the Pirates and retiring, so the Pirates likely felt that they didn't need to risk the $14.1MM salary. If he elects to pitch again, it's possible that the Pirates could work out a one-year deal at a lower rate, as I projected in my free agent profile of Burnett, predicting one year and $12MM to return to the Bucs.
