The Pittsburgh Pirates made probably the most shocking move of the early part of the MLB offseason, bringing back A.J. Burnett on a one-year deal worth $8.5 million.
The #Pirates have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with RHP A.J. Burnett (@wudeydo34) for 2015. pic.twitter.com/qS623MDvzQ
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) November 14, 2014
Burnett shined for the Pirates from 2012-13, tossing a total of 393 1/3 innings, striking out 389, and pitching to a 3.41 ERA. He then signed a one year, $15 million deal with the Phillies for 2014 and struggled before declining a player option for the 2015 season. He’s now going back across Pennsylvania for a pay cut.
If the Pirates are expecting Burnett to replace Edinson Volquez in their rotation, they’ll probably get good value by bringing him back. Burnett and Volquez had ERAs that were a run and a half apart form each other, but their FIPs were nearly identical – 4.14 for Burnett, and 4.15 for Volquez. Considering Burnett was also pitching 2014 with a hernia, there’s a lot that can potentially go right with this deal for Pittsburgh.
It's a Burgh thing. pic.twitter.com/ZncHavpeZ7
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) November 14, 2014
Who would have imagined three years ago that you’d see a player leave Philadelphia for Pittsburgh because he wanted to play for a winner?
