Yankees’ A.J. Burnett Could Be One of This Offseason’s Best Bargains: A Fan’s Take

The New York Yankees have put starting pitcher A.J. Burnett on the trading block. With starting pitching at such a high price financially, he could be a huge bargain for a small market team.

New York Yankees starter A.J. Burnett (8-9, 4.60 ERA) has not given fans much to cheer about in 2011.
Bill Menzel Photography

It appears that the Pittsburgh Pirates are the leading candidates for Burnett's services. ESPN.com reported on Feb. 12th that the framework of a deal with the Pirates is in place and that the Yankees have been in talks with a total of four teams.

The Yankees are not just looking to dump Burnett, as they are looking for a significant player back in return for their right-handed starter.

Going from the big city lights of New York to the small market of Pittsburgh could be just what Burnett needs to get his career back on track. Burnett's second half slide last year got in his head, and he never really was comfortable pitching in the bright lights of the Yankee Stadium.

If the Pirates acquire Burnett, they will have to make some adjustments to their starting rotation. The rotation projects, as of now, to be Jeff Karstens, Erik Bedard, Charlie Morton, Kevin Correia, and James McDonald. If they add Burnett, it would appear that Karstens would be the odd man out and would be moved to the bullpen.

Burnett's durability is exactly what the Pirates' rotation is lacking. Last season, the Pirates' rotation had several injuries. Morton skipped starts due to fatigue and had surgery in October to repair a torn labrum in his left hip. He has worked hard this offseason with pitching coach Ray Searage, but he still might not be ready on opening day.

McDonald started 31 games last season, but had trouble pitching deep into games and totaled only 171 innings of work. The Pirates' best starting pitcher was Correia, and he ended the 2011 season on the disabled list. Then, throw in Bedard, who has had a long history of injuries throughout his career.

The Yankees want to trade Burnett for two reasons. One of the reasons is that they want to reduce payroll so they can sign or trade for a left-handed hitting designated hitter. The second reason is that they want to be below the luxury tax threshold of $189 million.

This is a deal that both of these organizations need to make happen. It would benefit both as they go into the 2012 season.

Del Yates has always admired the Pittsburgh Pirates of the 1970s and 1980s. He finds it bad for baseball that the Pittsburgh Pirates have been losing now for so long and hopes that they get back on top of baseball within the next two years.

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