For Pittsburgh Pirates Fans

"He is getting ready to go to spring training, whether it’s with the Yankees, Pittsburgh or anyone else," [A.J. Burnett's agent] Darek Braunecker said in a brief phone interview. "A.J. understands this is a business and will do what he has to do. He’s healthy and he’s looking forward to pitching for somebody."

NY Daily News, via Adam Bittner

about 16 hours ago Charlie Wilmoth 80 comments

Pirates Trade Rumors: A.J. Burnett Deal With Yankees Looks More Likely Than Ever

by Charlie Wilmoth on Feb 12, 2012 12:37 PM EST

New York Yankees starting pitcher A.J. Burnett throws to the Boston Red Sox during the first inning of a baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2011. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Here's a summary of A.J. Burnett rumors so far on Sunday:

-P- Buster Olney writes that the Pirates and Yankees have plenty of "common ground" and that they're "settling details." Who knows if this will happen or not, but it sounds more likely today than it did earlier this weekend.

-P- As I mentioned below, Jon Heyman tweets that the Pirates have offered two minor-leaguers for Burnett, and that offer doesn't really excite the Yankees. But Heyman still thinks the Pirates will be able to get done by taking on $13-15 million in salary.

$15 million would probably be too much to pay, but overall, this is good news. It sounds like there's a good chance the Pirates are going to get this done without giving up much of anything except money, which is what I was hoping for.

-P- Tim retweeted a rumor from some writer in San Diego that the Yankees could be interested in Nick Kingham being part of the trade. I wouldn't worry about that for a second -- I don't think that will happen in a million years, unless other players are involved. Trading prospects that good isn't really a part of Neal Huntington's M.O., especially when trading for a mid- to back-of-the-rotation type of starter with a bloated contract. Also, Heyman notes that the Pirates are primarily worried about keeping their prospects, not the amount of money they spend. Even in a worst-case scenario where the Pirates somehow get hosed in this deal, I'd expect the problem to be that they took on too much salary, not that they gave up quality prospects.

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#yankees don't love the 2 minor leaguers #pirates offered for aj. best guess, it still gets done, with pitt paying $13-15M of aj's $33M

Jon Heyman

about 20 hours ago Charlie Wilmoth 13 comments

Pirates and Yankees have a framework of a possible AJ Burnett deal in place, and they are now working through conditions of that framework.

Buster Olney. Follow-up: "The Burnett deal is not done, but the Yankees and Pirates have a lot of common ground, and Pittsburgh is the clear frontrunner as of 2/12." (That's the date, not the salary.)

Hat Tip to cocktailsfor2.

about 22 hours ago WHYG Zane Smith 66 comments

Sources: #Pirates 1 of 4 teams on Burnett; 1 team, tho, is on his no-trade list. #Yankees view Pirates as partner making "most sense."

Ken Rosenthal, for whatever it's worth.

1 day ago Charlie Wilmoth 76 comments

Yankees Want 'Ok Prospect,' Want Pirates To Take On More Than $10 Million Salary In A.J. Burnett Deal

by Charlie Wilmoth on Feb 10, 2012 4:40 PM EST

New York Yankees starting pitcher A.J. Burnett sits in the dugout during Game 2 of baseball's American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium in New York, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2011. Burnett is scheduled to pitch Game 4 in the series, which will be played at Comerica Park in Detroit. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

More on the potential A.J. Burnett trade, from Jon Heyman:

word is, #pirates willing to pay $10M of aj's $33M. #yankees have been pushing for something closer to a 50-50 split ...

#yanks also seek ok prospect back, which pirates hadnt agreed to. still, despite the differences, decent chance to happen

We'll see what "ok prospect" means. If it's an Aaron Baker or Brooks Pounders type of prospect, that's fine with me. Also, expecting the Pirates to take on $16.5 million for a player with Burnett's current trade value is quite a lot. $10 million is reasonable.

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