A.J. Burnett still hasn't decided whether he'll pitch in 2014, but if he wants to continue his career, the Orioles are interested, MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko tweets. Kubatko also notes that the Orioles met with Frontline, which represents Burnett, at the Winter Meetings. Burnett lives in Monkton, Maryland, about a half-hour north of Baltimore.
Burnett had previously indicated that he wanted to retire as a Pirate, but since then, he has taken his time deciding whether or not to return in 2014. The Pirates did not extend a qualifying offer to Burnett, with GM Neal Huntington telling Tom Singer of MLB.com, "If he or others want a market-value deal, they'll sign elsewhere." Burnett pitched 191 innings for the Pirates in 2013, posting a 3.30 ERA with 3.2 BB/9 and a league-leading 9.8 K/9. Burnett's 56.5% ground-ball percentage also led the National League.
“If he or others want a market-value deal, they won’t sign in Baltimore.”
FTFY
Yankees might not have enough to get Phillips alone, nevermind adding Bailey to the mix.
That’s a strange thing to reply.
It was a reply to ‘johnrhee’ but when I hit send it had a problem sending. Hit send again then I guess it went crazy.
I mean the statement was wrong anyway, especially considering they rejected a bp trade straight up.
Umm, maybe at petco park or something but not with the O’s…in the al east…at Camden yards…
Looking back at his statline in the AL East…Not really that good of numbers
If AJ goes back to the American League, he’ll get rocked. The NL is a much kinder place to pitch. But, if he goes to the O’s or some other AL team, thanks, AJ, for the memories of your two years in the Burgh.
Burnett is better off staying in the National League Central by going to the Cincinnati Reds after trading Homer Bailey & Brandon Phillips to the Yankees in a rumored trade proposal or to the Phillies after Roy Halliday retired.
Man if he’s willing to pitch somewhere else, the Dbacks could use him for sure. He’s a perfect fit for a one year deal.
I thought he only wanted to pitch in Pitt though.
He strikes people out and has a great ground ball percentage. With MLB’s best defense behind him, that could work quite well!
As a Yankees fan, boy would I love to have him back in the AL East
The Royals or Diamondbacks had the best defense by UZR and DRS.
I think that setting a ML record for lowest amount of errors by a team kinda allows us to refer to the O’s as having the best defense in the Majors.
Why not Arroyo?
Why are the O’s interested Burnett because he more or less lives down the street from the Yard?
I mean what are the Orioles doing???!!!???
Arroyo is the better pitcher; consequently, he’ll command a multi-year deal.
AJ has clearly stated, that, per his wife, he is only going to pitch near his home.
This kinda rules out Cincy, Az, etc.
Plus, he has no desire to pitch again in the AL East.
And finally, he stated he only wants to pitch in Pgh. I suspect he’s gonna retire, because he’s also stated he’s made enough money.
This could change, of course. I am a Pirate fan and am only going by his comments.
If somehow the Orioles can convince Burnett to play this season, I can see a deal getting done quickly. Ground-ball pitchers are hard to come by.
Burnett’s best bet is to lower his asking price and return to the Pirates. He said he wants to retire a Pirate, so now it’s time for him to prove it. After all, he could live 100 lifetimes with all the money he’s made. Why not head back to a serious contender that he likes playing for?
The Orioles are a serious contender and he’s wanted to play for them before, but they were never interested until now. For Burnett to lower his asking price to where the Pirates can fit him in, he’d have to lower it into the 7 figure range instead of 8 figures like most pitchers of his caliber are getting.
Saying 7 figures doesn’t mean much. 9mil is seven figures but I doubt the Pirates will be willing to pay for that despite of AJ performance last year.
Haha is this a joke?! Dan Duquette is a complete idiot if he signs this guy. He will get bombed in the the AL east
If the O’s make a decent offer, AJ will be in orange and gray in 2014. His family is in Baltimore and and he only wants to pitch in the NE coast because his wife cant travel by air.
Burnett signing back into the AL East would be a mistake. It also would not look good if he signed elsewhere based on his comments after the season about “resigning with the Pirates or retire.”