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| A.J. Burnett could potentially be a Pirate: is this a good move for the Bucs? |
The spurning of the Pirates by free-agent pitchers this offseason has been well documented, and it seems that the only way the Bucs could really acquire a big-name hurler would be via trade. After Edwin Jackson left a reported 3-year $30 million dollar offer from Pittsburgh on the table to sign a one-year deal with the Nationals, the Pirates turned their attention to Roy Oswalt. That courting lasted only a few minutes, as Oswalt made it clear he had zero interest in playing for the team. Granted, 19-straight losing seasons will take the luster off of your franchise, but the Pirates are not the same team they were for the past two decades. This team has potential both at the big-league level and in the minors, with several top-tier prospects potentially making their way to the Steel City this summer. The Pirates are in a winnable division that only became weaker this winter, and they made their first statement to the baseball world last season when they were in the N.L. Central race all the way thru the All-Star break. They play in the best ballpark in the Country, in a city with rabid sports fans. Pittsburgh has been named as one of the most livable cities by numerous publications this past year, and the region has great schools, top-notch medical facilities, and a low-pressure atmosphere that would be perfect for athletes who desire their personal life be respected regardless of their performance.
The complicated tale of A.J. Burnett starts way back in 1995 when the New York Mets made him their eighth-round pick of the MLB amateur draft. Burnett was shipped to Florida in a deal for SP Al Leiter, one of the "firesale" trades that ripped apart the Marlins 1997 World Series Championship team. Burnett was groomed as a starting pitcher, and was considered to have one of the best arms in baseball, easily reaching the upper-90's with his fastball. He eventually played his first full major league season with the Fish in 2001, going 11-12 with a 4.05 ERA. In 2002, Burnett flourished as the Marlins young roster started to come together. He finished with a 12-9 record, a 3.30 ERA and gaudy 203 strikeouts. The team hailed him as their ace and started to build around him heading into 2003. Unfortunately for Burnett, he lasted only four starts before his season ended with Tommy John surgery - missing the Marlins 2003 World Series run.
That was the first of many injury issues for Burnett, who after returning from the surgery once again showed his amazing arm by hitting 102 mph routinely during games. He made 19 starts for Florida in 2004, posting a 7-6 record. He seemed to have come all the way back from the dreaded Tommy John surgery and was geared up for his contract season of 2005. Burnett made it clear to Florida that he would test the market in the offseason, and then proceeded to put together a 7-game winning streak after the All-Star break as the Marlins made a failed Wild Card run. As the team faded in late September, Burnett publicly criticized the organization and was asked to leave the team by Manager Jack McKeon. Burnett was officially finished in South Florida.
In December of 2005, the Toronto Blue Jays signed Burnett to a 5-year $55 million deal that would go down as one of the worst in team history. He missed parts of the 2006 and most of the 2007 season due to injuries, and was projected to opt-out of the final two years of his contract after finishing 2008 with a career best 18-10 record, leading the AL with 231 strikeouts in 221 1/3 IP. At the end of the 2008 season, Burnett did in fact opt-out and became a free agent.
He signed a 5-year $82.5 million contract with the New York Yankees on December 18, 2008. Despite playing for a team with one of the best offenses in baseball, Burnett has struggled to maintain his starting role with the Yankees over the past three seasons. He has not pitched up to the standards expected of him and his $82.5 million dollar deal. He has started 98 games for New York, and during the past two seasons has finished with an ERA upwards of 5.00. Burnett never seemed to be able to handle the increased spotlight that comes with playing in the Big Apple, a problem that many players in all sports have experienced over time. Increased wildness has plagued Burnett, making him unable to avoid big innings. His walks, wild pitches, and hit batters numbers all show the tale of a pitcher who has either lost his mechanics, or simply is not as good as he once was.
At 35-years old, Burnett will not magically become the pitcher he was projected to be coming up with Florida. He is now at the tail end of his career, and the only possible silver lining would be the ability to come back to the National League, where he could escape the A.L. East slaughterhouse. Burnett could easily give the Pirates 200 IP, post a 3.50 ERA and win 12-15 games in 2012. That would probably make him the defacto "ace" of the staff. Is that worth the $10 million or more the Pirates would need to pay to make the deal happen?
The Yankees seem to want to acquire a player in the deal, rumored to be Garrett Jones. If the Pirates were to trade Jones, it would be assumed that they would give rookie 1st baseman Matt Hague a chance to win the starting job in Spring Training. Jones, for all of his faults, is a nice piece for this team in a platoon role. He is beloved in the clubhouse, a fan-favorite in the city, and a guy who has been a cult hero around here for the last few years. Trading Jones would create a hole that would need to be filled by either Hague, or potentially another free agent 1st Baseman. Derrek Lee no longer seems to be a possibility, and the rest of the free agent market for that position is pretty thin.
If the Pirates decide to throw a prospect in the deal instead, they could choose between any of the twenty or so mid-level prospects they have stocked away in Altoona and Indianapolis. If the Pirates are expected to eat more than $10 million of Burnetts deal, the Yankees should not expect anything more than a C-Level prospect in return.
If the deal gets done as a straight up Burnett to the Bucs for a minor-leaguer, then the Pirates have to take that chance. They add a guy who can give them 180-200 IP in a rotation that will be greatly lacking inning volume. It gives them an established major-league pitcher to send out there every 5th day. But do the Pirates NEED him?
This move smells increasingly like a deal to appease a fan base that wants to see the team spend more money. If thats the case, it becomes similar to the awful Matt Morris deal in which the Pirates gave up OF Rajai Davis for a pitcher who was well at the end of the line. Morris may be the worst acquisition the Pirates have made since Derek Bell was playing "Operation Shutdown". Burnett is not quite at the point that Morris was at, and he is a different kind of pitcher. The Pirates front office is enamored by live arms, guys who can light up the radar gun. Burnett is one of those guys, while Morris - well, wasn't.
Fans will ask why the Pirates didn't re-sign SP Paul Maholm once they declined his option for 2012. Maholm signed a much less lucrative deal with the Cubs, a deal that the Pirates had the money to make happen. Maholm seemed to turn the corner the past few seasons, and is primed to break out now that he is out of Pittsburgh - ala Jason Schmidt, Bronson Arroyo, and Jon Lieber. If the Pirates could have re-signed Maholm, then this Burnett deal would look really nice. Adding Burnett to a rotation that includes Maholm, a healthy Erik Bedard, and Kevin Correia would have given the Pirates the most experienced rotation they have had since the Drabek/Smiley/Tomlin/Walk era.
But alas, Maholm is gone. The Pirates are now left wondering if A.J. Burnett can come to Pittsburgh and find the potential he once had. It will be interesting to see how this all goes down over the coming days, as Burnett can't be thrilled with the idea of leaving a team that has World Series aspirations for a rebuilding club that has been branded as the worst franchise in Major League Baseball. Will Burnett come willingly and give 100% to the Pirates in 2012, possibly bringing his career back from the edge of the cliff?
Only time will tell.....
Hell No
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