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The New York Yankees, making a hard late charge to beat out the Atlanta Braves for A.J. Burnett, offered the free agent right-hander a guaranteed five-year contract Wednesday, a baseball source told ESPN.com.

Although the total dollar figure isn't known, Burnett's agent, Darek Braunecker, is believed to be seeking a deal approaching Carlos Zambrano's five-year, $91.5 million contract with the Chicago Cubs.

Burnett is moving closer to making a decision on his next destination, the source said, and a deal could be in place as soon as Thursday.

The Braves, who had offered a four-year deal with a fifth-year option worth a guaranteed $60-65 million before the meetings, have also expressed a willingness to go to five years on Burnett if necessary.

nykgeneralmanager wrote:If we're giving it to somebody, I'd rather its Burnett over Lowe or Sheets.

HCYanks wrote:

nykgeneralmanager wrote:If we're giving it to somebody, I'd rather its Burnett over Lowe or Sheets.

I don't get this mentality at all. For all of Burnett's natural talent he's a guy who both strikes out and walks a lot of batters. He's younger than Derek Lowe but still in his thirties--there's only 3 1/2 years between them. So why is Burnett so much more useful than Lowe when Burnett's been a constant injury while Lowe's been one of the most dependable starters in the league? There's a reason Pettitte still wants a high salary despite being a league-average pitcher at this point.