A.J. Burnett

As we heard yesterday, the reported framework for an A.J. Burnett trade between the Pirates and Yankees was that Burnett would join the Bucs in exchange for two minor prospects and $13-$15MM in salary relief.  The trade is expected to be finalized within the next day or two, so here's the latest news…

• The trade is "nearing [the] finish line," tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  The two prospects the Yankees will receive in the deal are A-level players and "not considered much."
• The deal is "a bold, sharp major-league move" for the Pirates, writes Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
• The Pirates and Yankees hope to take the proposed deal to the Commissioner's Office today, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.  The trade requires league approval due to the large amount of cash involved.

The Yankees and Pirates have been discussing a deal that would send A.J. Burnett and cash to Pittsburgh for two minor league players. Four teams are in on the right-hander, but the Yankees seem to prefer the Pirates. Here are the details from yesterday, and here are Monday's rumors:

• Joel Sherman of the New York Post hears the Yankees would do the deal if the Pirates took on more than $13MM in salary (Twitter links). So far the Pirates are offering $10MM in salary relief and two "blah" prospects, but there's a feeling the deal will get done.
• The Yankees and Pirates are still discussing the deal and it'll probably be completed, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. It seems likely that the Pirates will take on $13-15MM of the $33MM remaining on Burnett's contract and give up two non-roster players.

Yesterday we learned that four teams are in on A.J. Burnett, but the Yankees feel that the Pirates are the best match.  One of those four clubs is on Burnett's no-trade list, which reportedly includes ten West Coast clubs.  Here's the latest on Burnett and the Yanks..

• New York is insistent on getting the "right players" in a Burnett trade, tweets Marc Carig of the New Jersey Star-Ledger. Carig's source notes that this is "not a give away" of Burnett, and says that the two sides intend to keep working toward a deal (Twitter links).
• The Yankees likely will pay $19-23MM of $33MM remaining on Burnett’s contract and receive multiple minor leaguers in return, according to a source with knowledge of the discussions, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Those prospects would not be players on the Pirates’ 40-man roster, the source said.
• Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter) guesses that two of the other teams in on Burnett are the Royals and Indians.  The Indians could defray some money by dealing Travis Hafner, who is owed roughly $15MM between 2012 and his '13 buyout. 
• The Pirates are more concerned about prospects than money, so they're more likely to compromise on the amount of money they'll pay Burnett, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.
• It's doubtful that a deal will be completed today, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
• The Yankees don't love the two minor leaguers that the Pirates offered for Burnett, tweets Heyman.  Heyman still thinks that a deal gets done with the Pirates paying $13-15MM of the $33MM owed to Burnett.
• The Yankees know they can make a Burnett deal with the Pirates but they first want to make sure that nothing else is available before pulling the trigger, tweets Sherman.  All signs point to the Yankees moving Burnett in the coming days and trying to sign Eric Chavez and a left-handed DH with the money saved (Twitter link).
• The Bucs and Yankees have a framework for a possible  deal in place, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com (via Twitter).  The deal is not done but the two teams have a lot of common ground and Pittsburgh is still the frontrunner, Olney tweets.

The Pirates and Yankees have been discussing an A.J. Burnett trade recently, and yesterday we learned that Pittsburgh is reportedly willing to take on $10MM of the $33MM left on his contract. The Yankees are looking for a 50-50 split, however. Garrett Jones is off the table as well. Here's the latest on the right-hander…

• According to a source, there's a good chance that a deal sending Burnett to Pittsburgh gets done, tweets Mark Feinsand of of the New York Daily News.
• Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter) that the Pirates are one of four teams in on Burnett, but the Yankees feel the Buccos make the "most sense" as a trade partner. One of those four teams is on Burnett's no-trade list, which reportedly includes ten West Coast clubs. 

1:40pm: The Pirates have spoken to the Yankees about Burnett, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, "though those conversations failed to progress and perhaps qualified only as due diligence."  Rosenthal says that Burnett hopes to stay with the Yankees, but notes that the Pirates are not on his no-trade list.

8:05am: Righty A.J. Burnett has provided innings for the Yankees over the last two years, 377 in the regular season to be exact.  His peripheral stats suggest a brighter future, but Burnett posted a 5.20 ERA over 2010-11.  How does the free agent market deal with starting pitchers who provide innings and good stuff but lack the hoped-for results?

The free agent market just valued Edwin Jackson at $11MM for one year, but his ERA over the last two years is a full run lower than Burnett's, and with 32 additional regular season innings.  He does seem to have Burnett's reputation of good stuff without the results to match, though Jackson is significantly younger.  Had Jackson set out to find the best two-year offer possible, perhaps he could have gotten $20MM.  A year ago, Carl Pavano signed for two years and $16.5MM, and he too was coming off a better two-year performance than Burnett.  Pavano, however, lacks the upside of Burnett or Jackson.  The bottom line is that as a free agent, I think Burnett might find $12MM if he were set on a two-year deal.

Word from Joel Sherman of the New York Post is that the Yankees are "quietly — but diligently — still working to trade" Burnett to create additonal payroll flexibility for both Eric Chavez and one of Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, or Raul Ibanez.  GM Brian Cashman lacks leverage, as Burnett hasn't pitched well over the last two seasons and will be battling this spring to crack the Yankees' rotation.  So if Burnett's free agent value is around $12MM over two years, Cashman might have to let a team take him for $8-10MM over that span.  That could be the possible savings for the Yankees against the $33MM owed to the 35-year-old.

Possible fits for Burnett:

• Pirates: The Pirates can't seem to convince free agent starters to take their money, and Burnett could reject them as well if they are one of ten teams covered in his limited no-trade clause.   Still, they'd represent a fresh start back in the easier league, and Burnett could be a big fish in a small pond.
• White Sox: If the White Sox add Burnett, they'd have the rotation depth to trade Gavin Floyd for prospects without decimating their rotation.
• Orioles: Their rotation has plenty of options, but without Jeremy Guthrie, the veteran role falls to Jason Hammel.  Burnett's wife is famously a Maryland resident, as we learned from past trade rumors and his free agency process.  Burnett could work for the Orioles, but only if they found some payroll flexibility, had the desire to add yet another rotation candidate, and Cashman was willing to trade within the division.
• Athletics: When Bartolo Colon is your innings guy, a little more veteran depth wouldn't hurt.