MLB - Sports Rumors

Wed Dec 10, 2008 2:04 pm EST

Braves offer Burnett $80 million over five years

By Joe Zedalis

A.J. Burnett

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Talks between the Atlanta Braves and free-agent right-hander A.J. Burnett "progressed through the night," but the New York Yankees remain a factor in the Burnett discussions, major-league sources told Foxsports.com.

The Braves are pushing hard to land Burnett, the second-most desirable starter on the market after lefty CC Sabathia, who has a preliminary agreement in place with the Yankees. How hard? The team on Tuesday night made an offer of $80 million over five years, according to a unnamed major-league source.

Burnett, who turns 32 on Jan. 3, could benefit from a return to the National League, where he began his career with the Marlins.

Burnett is coming off an injury-free season in which he went 18-10 with a 4.07 ERA, striking out 231 in 221 1/3 innings. The 221¹⁄³ innings marks a career high for Burnett, who has dealt with injuries off and on throughout his 10-year career. Burnett came on strong in the second half of the season, and went at least six innings in all five of his September starts with a scant 1.82 ERA in the season's final month.

Source: Foxsports.comNew Window

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47 Comments

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  1. Mr. B
    1. Posted by Mr. B Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:12 pm EDT

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    1st! is he really that good
  2. coach A
    2. Posted by coach A Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:27 pm EDT

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    this is freakin' crazy! frank wren is absolutely nuts. my braves are going to be so sorry that they did this in 2, maybe 3 years. burnett has had 1 solid, good year in a decade long career, so how the heck does he warrant this type of contract?
  3. benny_bruin
    3. Posted by benny_bruin Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:05 pm EDT

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    No he isn't that good. But I am. I throw a 47mph fast ball that will leave you stunned.
  4. Dr. Jones
    4. Posted by Dr. Jones Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:48 pm EDT

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    I hope the mets make him an offer for 5 years worth 70, with performance incentives to get him up to almost 90... Imagine what he could do in teh NL east against Jeff Francouer, Ryan Howard, Pedro Feliz, Elijiah Dukes, and The Marlins... if comes to the NL east, and pitches 250-275 innings, he could very well get very close to Ryans 383 single season K record... God dam i hope the mets get him...
  5. Daniel V
    5. Posted by Daniel V Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:52 pm EDT

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    Wow, I remember when the Braves made smart free agent/trade moves. First Vazquez, now greaty over-paying for Burnett. As A Met fan, it can't help but make me happy, but any Brave fan cannot be happy with the direction this team has been going. They could've easily traded for Peavy, a legit ace of staff type pitcher. So far, this offseason has been that of a team very desperate to compete again but they are just making moves for the sake of making moves and not thinking them out ahead of time.
  6. Daniel V
    6. Posted by Daniel V Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:52 pm EDT

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    Dr Jones, he's only pitched over 200 innings 3 times in his career. He wants guaranteed $$ not incentives. Be happy the Braves are taking him off the market like they did Vazquez. You don't find it just a tad bit strange he has his best season as a pro when he knew the whole time he would opt out of his contract? His overall career stats, taking last year out of it, are not even remotely close to the $$ he is asking.
  7. .
    7. Posted by . Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:44 pm EDT

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    I guess Smoltz bullpen session didn't go well...
  8. jeffutlaw
    8. Posted by jeffutlaw Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:32 pm EDT

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    I wish I understood the fascination with this guy.
    I'm glad it's not my team offering this lenght of a contact to this guy.
  9. jeffutlaw
    9. Posted by jeffutlaw Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:32 pm EDT

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    The guy is a career 9 games over .500 for cripes sake
  10. baserock
    10. Posted by baserock Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:02 pm EDT

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    F the Braves! The Yankees will sign Burnett too!
  11. scott
    11. Posted by scott Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:32 pm EDT

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    take away last year and this guy is a .500 pitcher with an era near 4.00.
  12. baserock
    12. Posted by baserock Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:02 pm EDT

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    The Yanks will sign Burnett too!
  13. jaysal
    13. Posted by jaysal Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:42 pm EDT

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    I agree with those questioning Burnett's true value. What the heck has this guy done? Maybe at one time he MIGHT have been worth that but after all the injuries and time off, there's no way he should get this much money. Ridiculous!
  14. Craig Sindelar
    14. Posted by Craig Sindelar Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:27 pm EDT

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    HAHAHA!!!!!! Yankees., Yankees, Yankees... Will always hate them. They always sign big players, but end up not winning the world series every damn year. Why is that? One may wonder, but there are too many hot shot players on the Yankees. No one loves the game like they did years ago. Its all about damn money. I mean, what the hell are you doing to do with 23 million dollars a frickin year. Come on!!!!!! To hell with the yankees. They will still miss out on the crown this year, just wait and see.
  15. SUPERMAN
    15. Posted by SUPERMAN Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:03 pm EDT

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    man as a braves fan this is kinda nuts to see i mean we do need to add another arm with huddy... but come on atlanta 16 million a year for a guy who has never really proved himself we woudlnt even spend that much to keep andruw where he belongs, or for that matter go out and get some solid hitting help for chipper and mccann until frenchie can figure out how to hit again... it just scares me to add a guy who has that many injuries and now are rotation has a guy in hudson who is up and down vazquez who in big cities has been garbage and now injury prone burnett....... i live my braves but come on guys lets use the money wisely!
  16. corey s
    16. Posted by corey s Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:59 pm EDT

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    He might not be that good but at least he can come in and be the #1 guy in the rotation. If the Braves dont get him then who else could they get??? Lowe isnt coming, and after that the market is thin. Braves need to get Burnett and get Ben Sheets. Both are often injured but its worth it to know that when healthy this is the 1-2 in the rotation. Which would be pretty darn good.
  17. Tony
    17. Posted by Tony Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:31 pm EDT

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    No thanks. Not for a 32 year old. I'd rather try my chanceswith Lowe for a year or two than give this guy 5 years.
  18. Ray n Becky BX.NY
    18. Posted by Ray n Becky BX.NY Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:58 pm EDT

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    The yankees will offer 85 mil for 6yrs, anybody want to F with it? Yankees have VERY deep pockets. it is over paying but what the Yanks want is what they get!!!!!
  19. Bryan
    19. Posted by Bryan Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:43 pm EDT

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    Burnett is really that good, he has as good of stuff as any pitcher his age out there, but he can not stay healthy, and 5 years is a long time for a 32 yo. that has been injury free.
  20. UnKle Rukus
    20. Posted by UnKle Rukus Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:09 pm EDT

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    Yankees should stay away. Talent is there, but getting CC is a relief. THey dont need this guy. It would be nice if he accepted a deal that had team options after each year and only guaranteed him like 2 million with the rest being incentive. This guy is a joke. He could be the best pitcher in baseball, but he'll get the $$ and shut it down again.
    Sheets for 2 years and 25 mil is a great option, much better than Pavano Part II. Sheets is probably eager to prove himself.
    plus when he's healthy he is a threat to strike out 15 any game he pitches.
  21. Kb
    21. Posted by Kb Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:16 pm EDT

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    as a jays fan, i've seen this guy pitch and hes not worth the big money. he was injuried for 2/3 season at TO and he only came through for 1 season. if you ask me, he was stupid to opt out of guarantee money at TO
  22. readicullus
    22. Posted by readicullus Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:40 pm EDT

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    The Braves know pitchers. Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz. Hudson. Ok, Ok, they did sign Mike Hampton too, but them Braves still know how to pick 'em. And pitching wins ballgames.
  23. p_mansheim
    23. Posted by p_mansheim Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:23 pm EDT

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    Burnett may not be worth that much but in a year when the Yankees are in need of starting pitching, the Braves have to up their offers to attract top pitchers. If healthy and in the NL, you would see Burnett's wins and strikeouts go up (opposing pitchers wouldn't be able to touch his stuff adding an extra 1-2 strikeouts per game) and his ERA plummet. Burnett could look at Atlanta as a great place to earn the stats his pitching style deserves, and with Smoltz looking good would have a strong supporting pitching staff for the season. Vazquez needed to be in the NL as well and he gives the Braves innings pitched, something Charlie Morton and Oh-No Reyes could not provide for the price of a minor leaguer who has yet to prove anything in the majors and would only be a back-up to McCann.
  24. David P
    24. Posted by David P Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:39 pm EDT

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    Pitching is such a hard thing to find, particularly power pitching. He's one of the few guys out there that when healthy can shut down an offense for 8+ innings a game. I say it's worth a shot to sign him. It's better than giving up 4 top prospects for Peavy. At least it's just money and insurance can cover it if his arm blows up again. Hanson's the future ace of this staff anyway, so Burnett won't be relied on as a true "ace" throughout the whole contract. That's how all contracts are, you pay too much for the player by the end of the contract.
  25. vick is
    25. Posted by vick is Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:52 pm EDT

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    I agree w/ most that he's not worth the $$...I'd rather suffer thru another playoff drought and trade for some "young guns" than part w/ the $$ and the headache he's going to bring. I'm okay with Vazquez as he's a "John Thomson type", innings eating pitcher -- in other words an $11.5m # 3 or 4.
    What's Dontrell's worth? He can atleast me a LRP or a spot starter like Buddy was.
    Where's the power bat for left field?
    Re - kindle the Peavy deal w/ out Escobar w/ abt K.Johnson, Herndez, B. Jones, JoJo and Morton for Peavy and a AA lefty.

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