From Jerry Crasnick:
Five years is a lot, especially for a guy who is injury-prone. But either way the Yankees have now added two pitchers who both have great stuff, and with those two to along with Joba and Wang the Yankees definitely have something to work with heading into the 2009 season.Free agent right-hander A.J. Burnett has reached preliminary agreement on a five-year, $82.5 million contract with the New York Yankees, a baseball source told ESPN.com.
While Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and Burnett's agent, Darek Braunecker are still negotiating final contract terms, the deal is expected to be complete once Burnett passes a physical exam, the source said.
Now if only they could add a no. 3 hitter to that lineup.
19 Comments:
I love Burnett and think he will stay healthy and pitch well for at least a couple of seasons! I like him better than Lowe just based on age and having come directly from the AL East (no detour to the NL). CC is a STUD ACE. Wang is a great #1A pitcher and Burnett is that K guy we haven't had in a while. The rotation is as good if not better than ANY in baseball, especially with Joba and either Pettitte or Sheets...But, I would rather see them put Hughes at the back end of the rotation than see them not get a BIG bat. This team is not going to hit without replacing Giambi .370 on base average and Abreu .300 20 100 guy. Back to what we have all been preaching...go get TEX and we will have a complete off-season!! We need a BIG BAT! Can you imagine if the Yankees opened the new stadium with CC on the mound and Tex at 1B!! Oh man!!!
Burnett is a red sox killer great signing.
Anon,
not to mention he was a Yankee killer too...Nothing like getting a guy in the division who you couldn't hit.
Greg,
I know I am belaboring the point (the same one you have been making) but what is the justification NOT to give Teixeira 10 years, $200MM? He is the difference maker. The Yanks have $88 Million coming off their payroll. Here is the math: Burnett and CC are $40 Million combined per season. If you sign Teixeira for another $20 Million (which is what Boras is seeking), that's $60MM total. Pettitte or Sheets will cost you $10-$12MM per, so thats $72 Million spent of the $88. THEY COULD SIGN TEIXEIRA AND SAVE $16 Million OVER LAST YEAR'S PAYROLL!!! Even if they are stupid enough to do the Melky for Cameron deal and take on his salary, the payroll would STILL be below what it was in 2008 Am I missing something??
good signing. Next up is tex or manny. FYI, manny said today that sense he's getting not a lot of offers, he's threanening to retire.
F manny .We dont need him in NY
Peter,
I totally agree. Signing Teixeira must make too much sense for Cashman and company. I cannot understand how this team is letting money get in the way of having one of the best 1st basemen in the game, especially with the new stadium.
I love the signing. And this may be going way beyond the issue, but something I noticed. For some reason it seems like the Yankees HAVE to absolutely field the best team of big names and stars possible to even have a chance to compete.
For instance, Greg you are not alone but saying how you "Would love to add a #3 hitter to the lineup." A-Rod would be a 3 in any lineup, Cano before this year absolutely would be, Matsui would be in about half the lineups as would Nady. All I'm saying is that looking at past world series some of the #3 hitters included names like Dye, C.Guillen, Upton.
I think my point is that past world series winners have had one (Pujols, Howard) or two (Ortiz/Manny) superstars per winning team and a cast of role players. Yet it seems like we have a dream lineup every year with guys like Cano and Posada batting eighth and we're still not happy.
I think Cash is going the right way in realizing that it is PITCHING that got these teams there, and instead of throwing $12 million to a #7 hitter, we are throwing $16 million to a guy who is going to win 14 games at least hopefully.
Tex > Sheets/Pettitte. Just let a homegrown guy win the 5th spot if money's what's keeping them from getting him.
Manny said he's definitely going to play next year.
I like the Burnett signing a lot, despite my reservations about the length and overall cost of the contract. He'll be making just more than Pettite did the last two years, and Pettite was 29-23 with a 4.29 ERA. If healthy, Burnett should exceed that--and that's always the caveat, his health. I'm just glad that Cashman and the Yanks addressed clear pitching needs, stacking the rotation with CC, Wang, Burnett, and Joba--with Pettite, Lowe, or Sheets waiting to be the fifth. That's a hell of a rotation and, combined with a solid bullpen, the Yanks are nearly set with the arms.
Not so much with the offense, however. I agree with those wanting Teixeira. I'm just not sold on this offense as it stands, since I don't consider the 2008 men-on/RISP struggles an anomaly. The Yanks were too impatient, too willing to swing for the fences. Cameron would add power and speed, and is a heck of a CF, but his K's are way too high, and his AVG way too low. He strikes out like a 40-50 HR guy, but only hits 20-25. With Swisher, Cameron would combine with him to K about 275-300 times if they play full-time. Yeeesh.
http://heartlandpinstripes.wordpress.com/
daneptizl,
exactly! If money is what is keeping them out of the teixeira race, then pull the offer to Pettitte and let Hughes and Kennedy fight it out for the fifth spot. Sabathia loves pitching complete games so the bullpen won't be as spent as they were last year. Save the money on Pettitte and go get Teixeira. With the top 4 starters they have, they can afford to roll the dice on spot #5.
its better than missing out on everyone and having another 4/5 of rasner and ponson. burnett ahs electric stuff and seems to like the spotlot. i hope it pans out
The Yankees have enough money to buy all the hitting and pitching they want. Go do it.
i kinda like that fact of signing Burnett. according to the records, he's not that injury-prone as most people perceive, but i hate to hear some people now keep saying that CC and Burnett are on top of our rotation. it seems people have quickly forgot about Wang. whether Sabathia is a better pitcher than Wang is still a question mark. i don't understand why Wang is always so underrated.
Wang hasn't even thrown 40% of ML innings that Sabathia has...
Love the signings of AJ & CC exactly what we need...still need a stick some where in the lineup though - not sure if we should spend the money on Tex..
I am new to this blog....pardon me if this topic has already been beaten to death but, I am hesitant in thinking that Joba belongs in the rotation. I love him as the setup guy in the bullpen. Lights out from the seventh on!!
With this signing the Yankees have become a real threat to win the world series again. Past signings of old-past-their-prime pitchers (johnson, brown) have only brought recognizable names but not quality pitching. Titles are won with pitching and the Yanks haven't boasted a winning 5 since 2003. Next year will be off the chart, and with amazing prospects coming up through the farm system, the new stadium's mound will be overflown with amazing stuff.
Now that the yankees have basically signed CC and Burnett, i feel that the only addition needed is to sign andy pettite. my philosophy with this is to have the rotation set up as follows.... CC, Burnett, Wang, Pettite, and Hughes with Joba setting up for Mo in the bullpen. So that clears up our pitching problems. Now, as far as another bat I would absolutely love to have Tex. But, i see this as another Giambi signing. tex is a way better feilder then giambi but another superstar bat in the lineup is probably not what Cash wants to bacfire on him again. Keep gardner in center, hes fast and i think will develop into a great leadoff hitter steal bases and all. leave swisher at first, being the guy who quietly can come up big in big spots. Then the team will look more like the teams of the late 90s with great pitching and a clutch offense. and lets not forget about the two men at the end of that bullpen
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