MLB Trade Rumors: A.J. Burnett Would Stabilize Shaky Pirates Rotation

A.J. Burnett's tenure as a member of the New York Yankees could be coming to an end any day now. There have not been a lot of teams linked to the volatile starting pitcher, but the one talked about most often also makes the most sense. 

According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, the Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates are discussing a deal for Burnett. 

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The Yankees and Pirates are continuing to talk about a possible A.J. Burnett trade that could lead to more activity in the form of a couple free-agent signings by the Yankees. As of Thursday night, the teams were thought to be a few million apart in the Burnett negotiations, but they were still talking and there is some hope for a deal.

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As strange as this will sound, Burnett is actually a great fit for Pittsburgh's rotation this year. You can insert your own joke here, but it is meant to be taken as a positive for the Pirates. 

Right now, the Pirates' starting rotation consists of a few capable back-of-the-rotation arms (Jeff Karstens, Charlie Morton), an injury-prone lefty (Erik Bedard) and everyone else is just spare parts. 

For all the problems that he has had in New York, Burnett still has the potential to be a solid innings-eater for a team. He just has to stay out of high-pressure environments to succeed. 

Moving from the brutal American League East to the National League Central would work wonders for Burnett's fading career. The lineups would be much easier, allowing him to rack up strikeouts and decrease his walk-rate. 

Burnett is not going to turn the Pirates into contenders or anything close to that, but the 377 innings he has thrown over the last two seasons has a lot of value for a young team that is rebuilding through its farm system. 

As long as the Pirates can convince the Yankees to eat $25 million of the $33 million Burnett has left on his contract, they should definitely pull the trigger on this deal. 

The Yankees have the pitching depth to trade Burnett, he needs to get out of New York to salvage his career and the Pirates can use their low-pressure environment to get him to play up his skills on the mound. Plus, as an added bonus, if Burnett were to move to Pittsburgh and have success, the team could flip him at the trade deadline in 2013 for a solid prospect. 

All the signs are there for the Pirates to acquire Burnett. They just have to make it work financially before they do it. 

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