Right after CC is taking a $161 million 7 year deal, the offer made last week to AJ Burnett seems small in comparison. The offer is originally marked
at $60 million for 4 years with a 5 year option, over 5 years it is worth an estimated $80 million. But now, Mark Bowman is reporting that sources in Burnett's camp think that this is not "even close." Wow! The largest free agent pitching offer by the Braves since we grabbed Maddux, and it is like we are offering peewee league pricing. The main competition? The Yankees. They have reportedly offered him $64 million guaranteed over 4 years. It seems the 5th year option alone is not going to put Burnett convincingly in our corner.The Braves should not offer Burnett the kind of money that CC is getting, but 80 million is a lot too. Unfortunately for the Braves, the year we have money to spend, we are competing in one of the most over paid free agent markets since ARod signed with Texas for over $250 million. What are the Braves to do? I don't know. If we blow our load on Burnett, what about getting the hitter we need? It will mean more trading, and losing more young talent. We have been doing that for a long time, it generally works, but there is no one coming up that will be the kind of big time pitcher that Burnett can be. It is a tight spot. I hope Wren continues to compete over Burnett because, as I have said before, it makes us look more competitive for other free agents, and in particular to Jake Peavy who has a no-trade clause. I have to warn Wren, if we don't land Burnett, to not leverage the future of the team by over-trading as a result. We all want Burnett, but if we can't afford him, the fans will understand, but we don't want you to give up. Hang in there Wren.
[UPDATE: Talks between Burnett and The Cubs have broken down. Seems there is a little less competition]
3 comments. Leave Your Own!:
sure i want burnett. for 2 years, $26M. not 5 years, $80M. let this guy prove he can (1) be an ace and (2) be HEALTHY consistently. i see us landing lowe
Update, the Yankees have offered the 5th year into the contract. So we do not have the edge there.
I have to agree with you, he has a lot to prove. I would be happy with lowe, sure would be cheaper. I just don't think Wren shouldn't try, if the yankees beet us. They beet us. I don't think Burnett is that big of a risk, and our pricing is not completely unreasonable. It is expensive, but not crazy.
he's an asshole anyways
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