Sunday, February 12, 2012

Burnett To Pittsburgh?

Talks of AJ Burnett leaving the New York Yankees and going to the Pittsburgh Pirates have be going around for a few days now.  While it makes sense for the Yankees to trade Burnett who has not lived up to many peoples expectations after a very good season before entering free agency after the 2008 season, will the Yankees get what they expect for a player like AJ after the last couple of seasons where he has struggled.  After a successful offseason where the Yankees upgraded their pitching staff with the acquisition of Michael Pineda and others they also lost the young and promising bat of Jesus Montero.  Due to the departure of Jesus Montero who is now with the Seattle Mariners, do the Yankees need to add another bat to an already powerful offense? 
With the addition of Michael Pineda and Hiroki Kuroda Behind CC Sabathia and already having young and promising starters such as Ivan Nova and Phil Hughes, and the return of Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon the Yankees find themselves in a position to have a position battle for the spots at the end of the rotation.  Because the Yankees have so many options at the end of the rotation and the fact that AJ Burnett has not lived up to the Yankees expectations it makes sense to aid the offense and trim the pitching staff down.  
The Pittsburgh Pirates have a young and up and coming team that made a surge after the All Star Break last year and was in first place for a short time.  While they have a good team a veteran pitcher like AJ Burnett could be a valuable asset to this tam if they can get the right deal at the right price.  It has been said that the Pirates don't want to get rid of Garret Jones but to get this deal done this may be a player they have to part with.  The Pirates also don't want to have to pick up a large part of the salary of Burnett  who was given a huge contract by the Yankees after the 2008 season.
If both teams really want to get this deal done I think it is possible but compromises will have to be made on both sides as is with most trades.  I don't think AJ Burnett has lived up to standards of the Yankees fans and I thin they are ready to move on and look to improve the team and pitching staff without Burnett.  Burnett has proven that he can pitch at a high level as he did earlier in his career with the Florida Marlins where he won a World Series ring against the team he is on now the New York Yankees and he did the same again with the Toronto Blue Jays where he had a lot of success.  It may be very possible that Burnett has trouble pitching in New York and dealing with all the criticism that comes from playing in New York.  As a person who grew up in New York and who has always been a fan of New York sports and the New York Yankees I think the Yankees will benefit from a new young bat to add to a aging lineup that has a lot of power.  I also think that the Pirates and AJ Burnett  can also benefit from this trade.  All sides can improve their teams if they can agree to the terms of this trade.   
    

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