Report: Yankees set to make large offer to Burnett
The Canadian Press
11/19/2008 3:04:51 AM
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The New York Yankees are on the verge of making an offer to free-agent pitcher A.J. Burnett, according to a report on the New York Post's website.
Citing unnamed industry insiders, the Post reported that the Yankees spent Tuesday preparing the offer, rumoured to be a US$80-million, five-year deal for the right-hander who spent the last three seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Burnett went 18-10 with a 4.07 ERA for the Blue Jays last season before opting out of the final two seasons of his contract, leaving $24 million on the table.
Well I'm not too convinced Burnett will stay healthy with this new contract. Maybe it was coincidence but he has a knack of staying healthy in contract years. I have no doubt he will perform well but IP will be an issue IMO as it was in Toronto.
The Blue Jays may be prepared to roll the dice with A.J. Burnett for another five-year deal.
Five years may not be the first preference of general manager J.P. Ricciardi either, but it's a concept he hasn't ruled out.
"They asked about the chances of a five-year deal and that's one of the things they're looking for no matter where they go," Ricciardi said yesterday of his recent discussions with Braunecker. "But I don't know at this point. I think we'd be open to doing anything within the working framework that we think makes sense for us. We're open to doing some things that will enable us to keep him here.
"But I've said this all along and I've said it to the player and the agent too -- we will not be the highest-paid club. This cannot be all about money from a standpoint from our end because we're not going to come in first."
Five years, though, doesn't scare him.
"I wouldn't say it scares me. I'd say we'd be open to talking about frameworks but right now we don't have anything on the table in terms of years or money," Ricciardi said.
Hmmm. Very interesting. I actually think Orioles might be the team that ends up with A.J, but I seriously think that they Jays really want him. Maybe put an opt-out clause after 3 years and front-load the contract...
5 years is too much of a gamble. let the other teams have him. we just need 2 solid .500 pitchers for the 3rd and 4th spot after Holladay and Listch and roll the dice on whoever gets the 5th spot.
for 12 million a year, i'm sure we can get someone decent.
5 years is too much of a gamble. let the other teams have him. we just need 2 solid .500 pitchers for the 3rd and 4th spot after Holladay and Listch and roll the dice on whoever gets the 5th spot.
for 12 million a year, i'm sure we can get someone decent.
Wait...you want Jesse Listch to be our 2nd starter!?!
If not AJ then we definitely need someone of that talent to slot in behind Doc because the rest of the rotation won't be pretty until/unless Dustin and Marcum come back strong.
Wait...you want Jesse Listch to be our 2nd starter!?!
If not AJ then we definitely need someone of that talent to slot in behind Doc because the rest of the rotation won't be pretty until/unless Dustin and Marcum come back strong.
I think "want" is a strong word. It's more of a "we might as well accept it." With McGowen and Marccum gone for most of next season, we really need 2 more .500 pitchers.
I think Listch is good for a 10-8 season. If we have 2 more to keep us in the game consistently and let our bullpen win it, then I think we're decent. I imagine our hitting will improve because it can't get any worse. Let's see what JP has in his sleeves to improve our hitting.
If 10-8 is what we can expect from Litsch then we can't have him in our #2 slot hell we can'r even have him in #3 if that's what we are expecting.
I do agree that we can't go 5 years with AJ because with him there are so many question marks, but we absolutly have to go out and get us a very solid #2 guy in the level with Burnett. Whether it be Lowe, Sheets, etc. Or getting two #3 guys like Brad Penny, Jon Garland maybe trading for Javier Vasquez.
If 10-8 is what we can expect from Litsch then we can't have him in our #2 slot hell we can'r even have him in #3 if that's what we are expecting.
I do agree that we can't go 5 years with AJ because with him there are so many question marks, but we absolutly have to go out and get us a very solid #2 guy in the level with Burnett. Whether it be Lowe, Sheets, etc. Or getting two #3 guys like Brad Penny, Jon Garland maybe trading for Javier Vasquez.
I think that our mentality differs on what starting pitchers mean to a team. In our current situation, we can't afford to rely on starting pitchers to win games except for Roy Holladay. We can only hope that on a consistent basis, our starting pitchers will go 5 solid innings and keep us in the game. Here is what I am thinking.
We're looking at close to 60 wins from our starters. There's probably a solid 30 no decisions in those starts, and it will be our bullpen to pick up the burden. Let's say we get 20 wins out of those no decisions, that gives us 80 wins. Who am I kidding, this is not going to work. We're not going to the playoffs unless Ted Rogers gives JP another $40million to spend. You better pray that he doesn't waste it on another Frank Thomas or BJ Ryan.
Burnett has reportedly narrowed his list of teams to six, which seemingly means the Blue Jays, Orioles, Yankees, Red Sox, Braves and Phillies.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the A's will look to trade Bobby Crosby if they sign Rafael Furcal and "might even be willing to pick up some of Crosby's $5.25 million salary to get a deal done."
The newspaper lists the Dodgers, Orioles, Blue Jays, Cardinals and Giants as possible landing spots for Crosby, who's one season away from free agency and batted just .237/.296/.349 in 2008.
Would people have been happy with a 3 year extension to AJ? I mean we already had him for 2 more years had he not opted out, so I am fine with a 5 year deal if that is what it takes.
I don't like it. I'd like to believe other wise but AJ has historically (whether a coincidence or not) has had his seasons with the most IP the same as his contract years. I think the Jays will be rebuilding in the future anyway so still having an injury prone Burnett with a huge contract wouldn't be much of an asset.
If the Blue Jays fail to resign free agent pitcher A.J. Burnett, it is not a foregone conclusion that they will spend the money earmarked for Burnett's salary elsewhere.
Before he opted out of his contract, Burnett was due to receive $24 million (U.S.) over the next two seasons. Speaking this afternoon to the annual meeting of the Toronto chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America, interim Jays president Paul Beeston said the team may hold on to that money, effectively reducing next season's salary budget by $12 million.
"It may make sense for our future," Beeston said.
Last season, the Jays spent about $97 million (U.S.) on player salaries. Even if Burnett doesn't return, the club already has roughly $70 million committed to 11 players for next year.
The team continues to hold out hope that Burnett will resign, though it's widely believed that Toronto will eventually be priced out of the market. Beeston doesn't believe Burnett will sign anywhere ahead of baseball's winter meetings, to take place Dec. 8-11 in Las Vegas. Citing "Negotiations 101," Beeston said the Jays will wait until Burnett has fielded other offers before tabling their own bid.
It would make sense for Burnett's agent, Darek Braunecker, to hold out until the elite pitching free agent available this winter, CC Sabathia, has set the market. Despite a $140 million offer from the Yankees, Sabathia has been in no hurry to sign.
According to Beeston, the Jays continue to hold internal discussions about their future direction, with or without Burnett. If he decides to sign elsewhere, the team may decide to fill all their holes internally, Beeston suggested. That would mean taking a pass on the free agent market altogether.
"We could (forego all free agents). We might be forced into it," Beeston said, citing the downward turn of the economy. He said that the club's season ticket sales have been "consistent" with last year, though sponsorships are down.
However, Beeston ruled out the possibility of the club treating 2009 as a complete rebuilding year.
"We're not going down to (a payroll of) 40 or 50 million dollars. It's either status quo or you're going to add to it," Beeston said. "If we don't get (Burnett), we're not pulling back. We're not going to be selling players."
Asked how he would define a "successful" upcoming season, Beeston replied, "I think success for next year or the year after is playing the last week of the season and it meaning something."
By that definition, the Jays haven't been successful in 15 years.
Aside from leading the team's internal soul searching, Beeston continues to work on filling his own job.
He said today that the club is continuing the process of creating a long list of candidates to take over as Jays president and CEO. Beeston said he currently has 35-40 candidates from the worlds of baseball, business and sport generally. He described half of those as "household names."
At this point, the Jays are "not even close" to an interview process, Beeston said. But he did wager with one local writer that he would be out of a job by the beginning of spring training.
Once again, Beeston ruled himself out of the running for the position, though he would admit that the idea of doing his old job again full-time is a "seductive" one.
So the Jays may not be in the Free Agent Mix this year... could be a long summer...
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