Yanks Serious About Burnett

UPDATE 9:05 p.m. There are reports going around that Brian Cashman is MIA. He was supposed to meet with the NY writers and had to cancel because he was not at the hotel. Some people think he's meeting with Burnett, others think he's could be meeting with Derek Lowe.

From Tyler Kepner:

Just before Joe Girardi spoke with us, I ran into Darek Braunecker, the agent for A.J. Burnett. According to Braunecker, the Yankees are quite serious about his client.

“They’ve made it known what they think of him and what their priorities are,” he said. “C.C. is their first priority, and he’s their second.”

Yankees players want Burnett, who overwhelmed them last season, as he has done all through his career against the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. In 11 career starts against the Yankees, Burnett is 6-3 with a 2.43 E.R.A. In eight starts against Boston, he’s 5-0, with a 2.56 E.R.A.

“That’s certainly one of the things that appeals to him about New York,” Braunecker said. “He has a tendency to perform at the highest level on the biggest stage. The numbers speak for themselves.”

Also according to Braunecker, Burnett is as healthy as he's ever been:

“The medicals themselves say that,” he said. “They’re as good as any they’ve seen.”

Fair enough, but we all know that can change on one pitch.

Either way it's good that the Yankees are pursuing their free agent targets and not waiting around for Sabathia to make a decision (like a lot of people think they're doing).

Jon Heyman is also reporting that the Yanks may be willing to add a fifth year for Burnett, and are supposedly negotiating a four-year deal for more than $65 million for Derek Lowe.