Yankees, Pirates Complete A.J. Burnett Trade

For Burnett, it’s all about looking forward. But that doesn’t mean that we’re all done looking back. Monday, Burnett appeared on The Michael Kay Show and discussed his time in New York. He touched on Joe Girardi, how he thinks things went wrong, and his overall experience. You can read about the segment here.

Burnett comes away looking pretty honest. He comes away looking like a stand-up guy. He doesn’t hide from anything. There’s a lot of good and interesting material in there, but there’s one thing I want to talk about in particular. Burnett was asked about his fastball velocity, which dropped a little in 2010 and dropped a little more in 2011. His response:

Over at SI, Joe Lemire talks about the trade in an article titled “Yanks simply had to unload Burnett.” His perspective is that the Yankees simply had to unload A.J. Burnett. I don’t even know why he bothered writing an article. It’s all right there at the top!

In truth, Lemire has a lot to say, including stuff about the Yankees’ motivation to move Burnett, the Pirates’ motivation to get Burnett, and Burnett’s Yankees legacy. A sample:

This isn’t to say that Pittsburgh and its fans should be satisfied with the scraps thrown off the Yankees’ table like the beggars they appear to be here, but Pittsburgh is a much better environment for Burnett than New York. This isn’t some crack about media scrutiny in the Big Apple, either: there are multiple reasons for the Pirates to be excited about their slightly-used A.J. Burnett.

For one, the Pirates need to spend money if they are going to approach .500 and make more money that can be put back into the team. The new collective bargaining agreement makes it difficult for the Pirates to succeed in the draft as they have, as the only way to retain the large spending pool they have become accustomed to is to continue to fail. It’s an ugly circle, but some risks taken with money on the free agent and trade markets could help offset that loss. If they don’t spend it on risks like Burnett, then they are basically sitting on it and perpetuating this cycle.

So the big question is: just how much left does A.J. Burnett have to offer? Is he a big league-caliber starting pitcher, or is he the mess the Yankees can’t wait to get rid of? At The Hardball Times, Chris Lund attempts to find the answer:

Sorry for spoiling you with the conclusion right there. There’s lots of other stuff before that paragraph. Burnett doesn’t look like the pitcher he used to be, but there’s a reason there are trade rumors - he’s still an interesting guy, at a certain price, and he might have gas left in the tank. You can see why he’s piqued the Pirates’ curiosity.

Well, it doesn’t not sound like a fit. But according to Buster Olney, it’s not a great fit:

Burnett’s due $16.5 million each of the next two years. The Yankees would have to eat a lot of that in any trade. Burnett has captured the Pirates’ interest, but evidently they don’t want to add a little salary and lose Garrett Jones. Jones is 30 years old and his career numbers are unspectacular, but he has his uses, and the Pirates would prefer to hang on to him.