Source: Yankees offering Burnett five-year, $91.5M deal

[cmaff051]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3761008

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.

I cannot believe A.J. Burnett is getting these type of offers, and from us no less. He is a better pitcher than Sheets, but I find it hard to believe given his injury history why we would pay this much for him...

[Pharmcat]

please No

[nykgeneralmanager]

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

[Pharmcat]

with that injury history, 5 yrs is way to much

the guy has overrated numbers

please dont sign this guy.....give 2 yrs to Sheets, get Andy back, and go from there

[HCYanks]

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.

[nykgeneralmanager]

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.

Lowe is much older and not nearly as good. If we are giving anybody a ton of money, you go with Burnett over Lowe. I'm not saying I WANT to give Burnett that money or years, but would prefer him over Lowe.

[HCYanks]

Fair enough. I'm just wondering if Lowe's going to have to scale back his contract length demands some. I'd rather do Lowe for three years than Burnett for five.

[Jitpal]

I would take Burnett over Lowe but I prefer Sheets at 2 years over Burnett at 5. One can only hope that Burnett's health concerns are behind him and the rest of the clubhouse and the pennant race can keep him focused on the mound.

Plus, isn't the rumor 5 years and 80 or 85 million. Granted not a huge difference but still. -Jitpal

[Pharmcat]

this is a horrible signing

give me Sheets for 2 yrs and ANdy for 1 yr

[HCYanks]

We can't assume Sheets will take the two-year offer and Andy will come back on a one-year. Keep that in mind.