A.J. Burnett has agreed to a deal with the Phillies reportedly in the $16M range for one year. That was nowhere near what the Pirates had reportedly offered him which was actually more in the range of what they were offering James Loney annually. It creates a lot of questions that do not have any sure answers. Do the Pirates have his value that low? Are the Pirates just that cheap? Did the Pirates totally misjudge the market by not making a qualifying offer?
The qualifying offer will probably be the big question and while I think they still made the right move as he very likely would have accepted the offer. Most of the time teams make a QO they are fully aware the player intends to turn it down so the Pirates may have known in advance. However, if they didn't I think the complaints are also legitimate as the Pirates took the conservative route and it may not have been the correct move as they could have an extra draft pick now. Either way I think it was a tough decision.
I enjoyed watching A.J. pitch for the Pirates and think the length of their relationship was pretty much ideal. It will be interesting to see how Burnett adjusts to a media and fan base that has a bit of a reputation of being tough on players. He will also lose the shift which I know he dislikes but I believe has helped him over the years. Going to a new team usually works great from him in that first year so I'm confident he will be fine even if his skill are diminishing a bit and honestly wish him the best of luck.
So, how do other Pirates fans take this news? A.J. said it was the Pirates or retirement... is anyone feeling betrayed or lied to or are you more like me and think he probably felt that way in the moment?
Thanks for the memories A.J. I'll remember you for many things you did for the Pirates but I'm sure a lot of fans will think of this first.