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A.J. Burnett

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Greinke, Manny, Burnett

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A look at what is being written around the Blogosphere…

  • Royals Authority feels it will take a Johan Santana-type deal to trade Zack Greinke this offseason.
  • Goat Riders Of The Apocalypse takes an in depth look at the Cubs ’09 roster and what changes could be made.
  • Mets Geek (or is it Rays Geek?) thinks the most important move for the Mets this winter is to sign Manny Ramirez, but only for three-years and an option.
  • River Ave. Blues agree that Manny should only be signed by the Yankees if it can be done for less than five years.
  • MetsBlog calls Orlando Hudson a "must sign" this off-season.
  • The Chuck Knoblog doesn’t see how the Yankees can sign two big free agent pitchers and a first baseman and still get the payroll down to $180-185MM.
  • Drunk Jays Fans does not see any way A.J. Burnett will return to the Jays next season.
  • First And Goal From Second Base wants to see the Twins trade Jason Kubel for a reliever.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Burnett’s Opt-Out Decision Comes First

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Cathal Kelly of the Toronto Star talked to A.J. Burnett’s agent, Darek Braunecker.  Braunecker says Burnett has until fifteen days after the World Series to decide whether to opt out, and there will be no contract discussions with the Blue Jays until that decision is made.  So now the Jays play the waiting game…even though it’s obvious Burnett will opt out.

Kelly says Toronto is preparing an offer that would equate to four years, $54MM.  That’s unlikely to get it done, though Braunecker says years are more important than dollars.  His words:

"The primary issue would be how many years they would be willing to go.  It’s difficult to get five years on a pitcher…but if indeed he says he wants another five-year deal, we may have to go out on the market to get that."

Burnett expects Braunecker to tell him what he’s worth, and it’s probably five years and more than $80MM.

Heyman’s Latest: Yankees, K-Rod, Moyer

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Notes from SI.com’s Jon Heyman…

  • The Yankees apparently want to sign two free agent starters out of C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Derek Lowe.  If Sabathia is one of them they’d be looking at a total outlay of $200MM or more.  Ken Davidoff of Newsday notes that Sabathia might feel pressure from the players union to take the highest offer.
  • Heyman believes the nation’s struggling economy might temper spending, but not in the Yankees’ case.
  • Heyman doesn’t see the Angels as terribly gung-ho about retaining closer Francisco Rodriguez.
  • People close to Jamie Moyer say he wants to pitch until he’s 50.  Moyer didn’t rule it out when asked in August.

Burnett’s Agent Speaks

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George King of the New York Post chatted with A.J. Burnett’s agent Darek Braunecker recently. Braunecker says Burnett does not want the free agent process to drag all winter if he does opt out.  Burnett has a list of teams he does not want to play for, and the Yankees aren’t on it.

King notes that the Nationals were the only team besides the Blue Jays to offer Burnett five years back in ’05.  This year King sees the Yanks, Red Sox, and Orioles in the mix.  Burnett’s preference to be close to his Maryland home could be a factor.  A few of other eastern teams that may be looking for pitching include the Braves, Mets, and Phillies.

Braves May Have $45MM To Spend

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TUESDAY: Dave O’Brien rattles off a few more pitchers of interest for the Braves: Matt Cain, Ryan Dempster, and Brad Penny.

MONDAY: In our Braves Offseason Outlook, we suggested the Braves might have $40MM to spend this winter even if they hold payroll steady.  Instead, GM Frank Wren revealed today that payroll will increase beyond last year’s $102.4MM.  MLB.com’s Mark Bowman estimates Wren will have $45MM to work with.

As you know, the Braves intend to add two veteran starters as well as a slugging outfielder.  They’ll also attempt to re-sign John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, and Mike Hampton.  We covered this in the outlook, but it seems the Braves will sign one of Derek Lowe or A.J. Burnett.  They could complement that signing by inking a Japanese pitcher (or just a Paul Byrd type), and then survey the robust free agent market for left fielders.  The Braves will monitor the trade market, but their top prospects are not available.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Mariners GM, Burnett

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Check out Ken Rosenthal’s Full Count video from last weekend.  Some highlights:

  • The Mariners are looking for fresh blood in their GM search.  A few names in the mix: Kim Ng, Jerry DiPoto, and Tony LaCava.  If the Mariners opt for experience they could try to lure Brian Cashman or even Brian Sabean.
  • Rosenthal notes that an offer of essentially four years, $54MM from the Jays won’t cut it for A.J. Burnett.  Instead of $13.5MM a year, he’ll receive $15-20MM per according to Rosenthal.  Ken sees the Yankees, Red Sox, and Mets in the mix if C.C. Sabathia winds up on the West Coast. 
  • Jeff Blair muses on Burnett in the Globe and Mail today.  He sees Burnett getting between $15-18MM per year, and more than the four years the Jays are willing to give.  Interesting note from Buster Olney last weekend – he says the Braves have been scouting Burnett closely.

Mets Rumors: K-Rod, Castillo, Pedro

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Let’s collect some a few postmortem Mets articles floating around this morning. 

  • Ken Davidoff suggests the Mets patch up their bullpen with Francisco Rodriguez.  It’d be an obvious overreaction, and would ignore past history of big money tossed at relievers.  The Mets had a firsthand look with their own Billy Wagner signing.  $43MM for 193.3 innings – was it worth it?
  • David Lennon believes Luis Castillo is as good as gone, though I’d be surprised if eating half of his contract is enough.  Would Castillo get a three-year, $9MM deal on the open market right now given numerous palatable one-year options?  Adam Rubin sees the Mets trading Castillo, Aaron Heilman, and Scott Schoeneweis (he suggests eating 90% of Castillo’s contract).
  • As for the rotation, Lennon doesn’t see the Mets involved on C.C. Sabathia, Ben Sheets, A.J. Burnett, Oliver Perez, or Pedro Martinez.  I imagine the Mets will add one starter to follow Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey, and John Maine though.  Freddy Garcia could make sense.  Rubin says Derek Lowe and Brian Moehler are rumored possibilities, though Moehler already re-signed with Houston for ’09.
  • Bob Klapisch wonders if the Mets should consider trading Jose Reyes, David Wright, or Carlos Beltran to shake up the team.

Orioles To Entertain Burnett, Teixeira?

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Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun has a nice end-of-season column about the Orioles today.  Dan Connolly also wrote a fine summary on Saturday.

In my Offseason Outlook for the team, I suggested the Orioles explore the possibility of signing A.J. Burnett but pass on a huge commitment for Mark Teixeira.  Zrebiec says the O’s will be in the initial bidding for both free agents.  I respect that; it’s hard to see them winning any bidding wars though.

Instead, the Orioles will look to add starting pitching, a shortstop, and maybe a first baseman this winter.  To do so, they can shop Melvin Mora, Aubrey Huff, and Ramon Hernandez among others.  Brian Roberts could bring the biggest bounty, but the Orioles will explore an extension first.

My gut feeling is we will see Daniel Cabrera join the free agent class via a non-tender.  He did not show progress this year, and his average fastball velocity dropped almost two miles per hour.  He’d be $3MM+ poorly spent.

Latest On A.J. Burnett

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11:06pm: Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi says he’s yet to discuss dollars with Burnett’s agent.

10:38am: Yesterday, MLBTR reported the Blue Jays are preparing a two year, $30MM contract extension which would have A.J. Burnett making $54MM over the next 4 years. Here’s some of the latest:

Mike Rutsey of the Sun Media reports Burnett has also mentioned to Baltimore players that he’d like to play for the Orioles, but that his decision on whether to opt out or not is contingent on the Blue Jays offer.  Says Burnett,

"The bottom line is when I sit down at the end of the season and [my agent is] with me and tells me what I’m worth and then we will look at Toronto’s offer and hopefully it’s close."

Cathal Kelly of the Toronto Star says Burnett was pleasantly surprised by the number being floated by the Jays.

"Nice," he said, nodding his head approvingly. "That’s more than I thought they would come up with."

Week In Review: 9/21 – 9/27

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Here’s your weekly look back at some of the biggest stories we’ve covered on MLBTR!

  • The Pedro Alvarez drama may finally be behind us. The Pirates’ first-round pick agreed to terms with the organization on a new four-year, $6.355MM major league contract. Jim Callis and Dejan Kovacevic have some more insight to offer on the signing here. The contract was officially signed later in the week, and the grievance was resolved. Royals fans and Eric Hosmer are also both relieved that this is over I’m sure.
  • The Blue Jays began talking extension with A.J. Burnett this week. Later on, we learned that the Jays would offer a two-year, $30MM extension onto the remaining two years of his contract, bringing the total remaining value to four years, $54MM. Burnett seemed pleasantly surprised with the amount of money the Jays were said to offer. He expected they’d offer less. You’re always going to be wondering just how many innings he can give you in a season, but in a world where Carlos Silva makes $12MM per season, if Burnett is healthy he’d be a steal at this price.
  • Lots of question marks for another AL East team’s rotation, with the Yankees trying to figure out just what exactly Andy Pettitte and Mike Mussina are planning for 2009. Pettitte has said that he’ll play for the Yankees or retire. Bringing Pettitte back only makes sense if he’s willing to take a much smaller contract. I think around $10MM would make sense; someone also suggested a $7-8MM deal with incentives. That seems fair as well. As for Mussina, he initially said that he didn’t think he’d pitch in 2009, but later at least discussed the possibility of pitching for 300 wins. His first preference would be to pitch for the Yankees again. Congrats to Moose on picking up win number 20 today, by the way. Another milestone in a great career.
  • Erik Bedard’s injury and operation weren’t as serious as thought, and the Mariners now face more of a decision on bringing him back. If he’s healthy enough to pitch, I can’t see a reason not to bring him back. Maybe they can at least get a few months of the pitcher they initially thought they were getting, and get something in return in July.
  • Curious about what it will take for your club to reel in that free agent you’re craving? Buster Olney took a look at the market earlier this week that might shed some light on the issue.
  • One player who will be in that free agent pool is Orlando Cabrera. He openly criticized his teammates, saying that none of them wanted to win enough, and that "they were the problem," not him. Cabera’s hitting a very weak shortstop market; he should draw a lot of interest from numerous clubs. Interestingly, that article suggests Chicago’s biggest rival – Minnesota – as a possible landing place for Cabrera.
  • Two players officially called it quits this week. Todd Jones retired, notching 319 saves in his career. Elsewhere, J.T. Snow signed a one-day contract with San Francisco, so he could officially retire as a Giant.
  • Tim updated the Offseason Outlook series with entries for the Reds, Rockies, and Rangers.
  • Has anyone seen Brad Penny recently? No? Apparently, neither have the Dodgers.
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