The A.J. Burnett saga may be coming to a close, with Buster Olney reporting that the two sides have a framework for a deal in place, and that they are working through the conditions of that framework. Olney mentions that the deal isn’t done, but the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Yankees have a lot of common ground. He adds that Pittsburgh is the front runner for Burnett. In his final update he adds that no players have been decided on, and money isn’t final, but the two sides are talking within common ground to settle the deal.
From the sounds of things, it looks like Burnett will be with the Pirates soon.
UPDATE 11:10 AM: Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that the Yankees know they can make a deal with the Pirates, but that the two sides are still talking money and players. He says that the Yankees want to make sure nothing else is available before pulling the trigger. Sherman adds that all signs point to the Yankees making a move in the coming days, using the savings from a Burnett deal to sign Eric Chavez and a left handed designated hitter.
UPDATE 12:00 PM: Jon Heyman reports that the Yankees don’t love the two minor leaguers the Pirates have offered in the deal. His best guess is that the deal gets done with the Pirates paying $13-15 M.
UPDATE 12:02 PM: Sherman mentions that the Yankees have talked to four teams about Burnett, with Washington being on his no-trade list. He thinks it is doubtful a deal gets done today.
UPDATE 12:04 PM: Heyman says that the Pirates are more concerned with prospects than money. He says they’re more likely to compromise on money.
UPDATE 12:56 PM: Ken Rosenthal is hearing the Yankees will pick up $19-23 M, and the Pirates will send two minor leaguers in return. He says that the minor leaguers aren’t on the 40-man roster.
UPDATE 1:00 PM: I mentioned earlier this week that the trade value for Burnett, with no money picked up, would be negative $17.6 M. To give an idea of his value with Rosenthal’s figures, the Pirates would have to give up $1.4 M in prospect value if the Yankees picked up $19 M. They’d have to give up $5.4 M in prospect value if the Yankees picked up $23 M. If it’s two prospects, then the Pirates are looking at two young Grade C hitting prospects at $19 M, and two young Grade C pitching prospects at $23 M.
