Loading ...All weekend there have been whispers of a potential trade being discussed that would send New York Yankees starter A.J. Burnett to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The trade has still not been completed, but there's a good chance it will be done, tweets Mark Feinsand.
Burnett, 35 years old, went 11-11 with a 5.15 ERA last season. The right-hander has now pitched two consecutive seasons with a plus 5.00 ERA.
After the Yankees acquired starters Michael Pineda and Hiroki Kuroda last month, they were left with Burnett, Phil Hughes, and Freddy Garcia all fighting for one spot in the rotation. Garcia is the most consistent and has an affordable contract, Hughes is the youngest and has the most potential, and Burnett has the largest contract with consistency issues.
Burnett does have the talent to be a good pitcher, as he's shown in the past, but he is now the odd man out on New York's roster. However, he is hard to move in a trade because of the two years, $33 million remaining on his contract.
There are currently four teams interested in trading for Burnett, tweets Ken Rosenthal, though one of those teams showing interest is on his no-trade list.
Pittsburgh is the favorite to land Burnett, most likely because of their willingness to take on $10 million of his remaining salary. However, the Yankees would like Pittsburgh to take on closer to half of the $33 million left of Burnett's contract, tweets Joel Sherman.
If the Pirates complete a deal for Burnett, don't expect to see them send any players in return to New York. The Yankees are strictly trying to move Burnett to free up cap space, as they work toward their goal of being under the luxury tax threshold by 2014.
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