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Sean Burnett

Nationals Sign Sean Burnett To Two-Year Extension

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The Nationals have officially signed Sean Burnett to a two-year extension. The $3.95MM contract, which was first reported by Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post, covers Burnett's final two seasons of arbitration eligibility and includes a mutual option for 2013. Agent Jim Munsey represents the left-hander. 

The 28-year-old became a key reliever for Nationals manager Jim Riggleman in 2010, his first full season in Washington. Burnett, a product of the deal that sent Joel Hanrahan and Lastings Milledge to Pittsburgh, posted a 2.14 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 63 innings last year. The former first rounder limited hits and homers and induced lots of ground balls (54.3% ground ball rate) as usual.

Burnett will earn $1.4MM, including a $100K bonus, in 2011 and $2.3MM in 2012. The mutual option covers Burnett's first free agent year and would pay him $3.5MM or a $250K buyout. The Nationals won their arbitration case with Burnett last offseason (775K vs. 925K), which presumably saved them money on this extension.

Nationals Aggressively Pursuing Greinke, Garza

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The Nationals are "aggressively pursuing" a trade for Matt Garza or Zack Greinke, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. However, Kilgore’s source doesn’t expect Washington to trade for either pitcher. Earlier today, ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reported that Royals GM Dayton Moore is actively gauging the market for Greinke.

The Rays and Royals could have interest in Ian Desmond and Jordan Zimmermann, but the Nationals are not likely to move either player. However, Kilgore hears that the team would move Danny Espinosa “in a heartbeat.” Roger Bernadina would be available and it’s possible that the Nationals would consider trading Drew Storen or Sean Burnett, according to Kilgore.

Revisiting The Burnett-Morgan-Hanrahan-Milledge Trade

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On June 30th, 2009, the Pirates traded reliever Sean Burnett and outfielder Nyjer Morgan to the Nationals for reliever Joel Hanrahan and outfielder Lastings Milledge.  With exactly one year in the books, which side is ahead?

Hanrahan has tossed 63 innings for the Pirates with a 3.00 ERA, 11.9 K/9, 4.6 BB/9, and 0.43 HR/9.  He's totaled 1.0 WAR for the Pirates.  His fastball velocity has increased since the trade, to the point where he's averaging 95.4 mph this year.  Hanrahan will be arbitration-eligible for the first time after this season, and he's under team control through 2013.  He's part of a strong late-game relief trio in Pittsburgh, along with Evan Meek and Octavio Dotel.

Milledge is hitting .281/.339/.384 in 490 plate appearances for the Pirates.  He's played 928 innings in left field, but has moved to right field since Jose Tabata's promotion.  He's totaled 1.2 WAR for the Pirates.  Like Hanrahan, Milledge is arbitration-eligible for the first time in 2011 and under control through 2013.

For the Nationals, lefty reliever Sean Burnett has a 2.96 ERA, 7.7 K/9, 4.0 BB/9, and 0.70 HR/9 in 51.6 innings.  He's totaled 0.4 WAR for the Nats.  That value came entirely from 2010, as he's increased his K/9 to 8.1.  He's earning $775K this year after losing an arbitration hearing in February.  Burnett is under team control through 2012.

Morgan is hitting .291/.345/.368 in 530 plate appearances with 41 stolen bases in 59 attempts for the Nationals since the trade.  His 2.7 WAR comes entirely from 2009, as he's actually had negative value in 2010.  Morgan's '09 season ended in late August with a broken wrist.  It's been a rough 2010 season offensively, and Morgan leads the league with 11 times caught stealing.  Morgan has tallied 1,000 innings in center field in his time with Washington.  After the season it appears that he'll miss the Super Two cutoff by a few days, meaning he will not be arbitration-eligible until after the 2011 season.  Morgan is under team control through 2014.

I'd rather have Hanrahan than Burnett at this point, and the Pirates' reliever is under team control for an extra season.  Morgan's last two months have been discouraging, but he might be better than Milledge defensively and is under control for an extra year.  While the Nationals are ahead 0.9 in WAR, this challenge trade remains something of a toss-up a year later.

Nationals Win Arbitration Case Against Sean Burnett

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The Nationals won their arbitration case against lefty reliever Sean Burnett, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson.  He'll earn $775K as opposed to $925K in his first arbitration year.  By beating Burnett and Brian Bruney this week, the Nats saved $500K.

Talking to Ladson, Burnett had this to say about the hearing: "It was interesting.  I learned a lesson. I don't want to deal with it again."

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