Looks like A.J. Burnett is headed back to the Steel City on a one year, 8.5M contract. The deal seems reasonably priced, the Bucs have a gaping hole in the middle of their rotation, and I don't think leaving the bandbox that is Philly could possibly hurt a pitcher. A.J. was probably my favorite Pirate since Jack Wilson was traded, so I'm happy to see him back. What type of impact he has on the field is yet to be seen. But this definitely feels like a wise use of money when a guy like Josh Johnson with injury questions and a far worse year got similar money last offseason.
After largely sitting on their hands last offseason, and then getting knocked out in a rough Wild Card game and watching the division be very much within grasp had some additional improvements been made (ie not Ike Davis), it's nice to see the Pirates striking early with AJ and the Cervelli trade.
I don't mind this either. Burnett played in a small stadium, had a hernia and one of the worst defenses in baseball behind him. Recipe for a bad year. Tells you how bad things are in Philly when someone turns down 12.5 million and takes 4 million less to play with the Pirates. How the times have changed.
ReplyDeleteI think this is about as ideal as fit as we'll find. A one year deal fills a rotation slot and avoids forcing their hand to rush Kingham or Taillon. That should still leave at least $10-15M to address the other needs, if not more with the new national tv deal and strong ticket sales.
DeleteThey could use another starter. Also, it would be nice if they improved their infield depth so we don't have the Jason Nix and Michael Martinez debacle all over again.
DeleteWhat about Alen Hanson?
DeleteI don't see Hanson coming anywhere near the major league roster next year unless there is a major catastrophe. From what I've read, he still has some work to do on both ends of the ball, as well as some maturity/discipline concerns.
DeleteBut regardless, the team definitely needs to beef up its middle infield depth. They need to fill the bench utility infielder slot (waiver pickup Jake Elmore could be that guy, but waiver pickups tend to be pretty fluid through the winter months, or Barmes could be back), as well as some experienced AAA depth to mentor Hanson and hopefully be available if someone goes down with an injury. Seeing how terrible Morel and Martinez looked this year should have made that obvious.
Chase D'arnaud also left as a minor league FA, which opens up another roster spot in Indy.