#BurnettWatch Day: 11 "The Final Countdown"

#BurnettWatch

It seems almost unanimous among the MLB media that the AJ Burnett deal could get done by the end of the day Friday or Saturday at the latest.
The financial details have been worked out according to John Heyman of CBS Sports with the Yankees sending over $20 million along with Burnett with the Pirates picking up the remaining $13 million over the next two seasons

According to Heyman, the final details remain on which two Pirates minor leaguers will be joining the Yankees system. All indications seem to be that it will be nobody in the top 20 prospects in the Pirates system.

UPDATE: Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweeted that one of the two prospects being dealt would be RHP Diego Moreno.
Moreno, a 25 year old reliever spent the majority of last year in High A Bradenton after starting the year with AA Altoona. Moreno went a combined 2-4 last year with a 3.63 ERA and 1.21 WHIP in 41 appearances.

If this is the caliber of minor leaguer the Pirates are giving up in return for Burnett, then there is absolutely no risk with this trade. After attempts to sign Edwin Jackson and Roy Oswalt, it's become pretty clear that the only way to acquire a big name pitcher would be through a trade and right now with the market the way it is and so close to spring training, there is no better pitcher out there to trade for than Burnett. Attempting to acquire any other pitcher would have resulted in the Pirates having to compromise their future by trading away top 10 prospects.

UPDATE: The second player traded was Exicardo Cayones. A slap hitting OF with speed who struggled in Low A State College and was demoted to the GCL.
 

So now one of the biggest questions people might be asking is why the Pirates were not one of Burnett's 10 teams he wished to not be traded to. The answer to that is fairly simple, meet Mrs. Karen Burnett.

Sweet Blowout, Bro

AJ's wife Karen lives in Baltimore and is afraid to fly. As was discussed on 93.7 The Fan's Vinny & Cook show. As a part of his deal with the Yankees, Karen was given 8 chauffeured trips from Baltimore to New York as a stipulation in AJ's contract. (Normally I wouldn't listen to anything Vinny has to say but due to his NY connections, I'll believe it.) This makes sense as to why AJ would reject a trade to the Angels, and more than likely the majority of the teams on his no trade list would be West Coast teams.

So on behalf of Pirates fans, we would like to thank you Mrs. Burnett.

More analysis on Burnetts impact on the rotation to come later.

Go Bucs

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