Pittsburgh Pirates After Yankees Starter A.J. Burnett
By Matt Shetler
For a change the Pittsburgh Pirates are trying to spend some money, but no body seems to want it.
The Bucs have been busy trying to add another starting pitcher, which they desperately need, but have had no success to this point.
They tried to get in on the bidding for Roy Oswalt, but were quickly turned down. Then they made right-hander Edwin Jackson a three-year, $30 million offer but for some unknown reason, Jackson decides on a one-year $11 million deal from the Washington Nationals.
Now all attention has been turned to New York Yankees starter A.J Burnett. The talks between the two clubs don’t seem close at the moment but Fox Sports Ken Rosenthal confirmed the Bucs have spoken to the Yankees about the right-hander.
Then there was the tweet from ESPN’s Buster Olney.
"Total speculation: I wonder if a Garrett Jones/A.J. Burnett swap might make sense, with the Yankees eating about 90 percent of owed Burnett."
For one, this probably wouldn’t happen until closer to spring training, but if there’s any chance at all, the Bucs need to make this happen.
Looking at Burnett, the Pirates aren’t one of the teams on his no-trade list, so the Yanks could deal Burnett to Pittsburgh with no restrictions.
He also would probably enjoy being the big fish in a small pond. Plus he’s a proven guy that could have success in a Pirates uniform.
Getting out of the best division in baseball and heading to one of the worst can mean something throughout the course of a season. There’s also the fact that the shift from the American League to the National League should pay dividends.
As for the Bucs it’s a win-win situation. They not only could get a guy who has the potential to be a top of the rotation type guy, but they could get Jones off their roster.
Jones offers little value to the team except the two hot streaks he goes on for a couple of weeks per season. The rest of the time he’s a lineup killer. It doesn’t matter if they play him at first base, where he’s a defensive liability, or right field; he’s continuously ranked in the bottom third in baseball in OPS. He’s a guy who’s paid to produce, but offers up very little in terms of production. There’s actually very little that he does well enough to warrant him getting regular at bats.
But the Yankees would be a great fit for him.
The Yanks are in need of a left-handed DH so they would have use for Jones. He would probably be the worst bat in their line up but could have a big year in New York. There’s the short perch in right field and he would see nothing but fastballs all season. Jones couldn’t ask for a better situation to go to. There’s some pop in that bat and he could put up some decent numbers in pinstripes.
That’s something he can’t do in a Pirates uniform.
Of course it’s all speculation right now and it’s too good to be true.
Then the Pirates have to consider one other thing before they pull the trigger on a deal.
With Ryan Doumit already gone and Jones potentially on his way out, who will hit the meaningless solo homer when the Pirates are down 10-1 in the eighth inning?
All kidding aside though, the Pirates need an arm and rolling the dice on a guy like Burnett at the cost of a guy like Jones should be a no-brainer.
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