It has been rumored that AJ Burnett will return to pitch at least one more season in 2014 but also very likely that he will not return as a Pittsburgh Pirate.
Social media has logged countless reactions from the Pittsburgh faithful, many of whom are disappointed that the Pirates didn’t give Burnett the $14 million he is “worth”. One in particular caught my eye by a media member from 93.7 the Fan who is well-known but not exactly popular in the Steel City.
“Ya know, you can’t always shop off the clearance rack,” he said on Twitter on Thursday.
That may be true. Everyone knows the Pirates need a first baseman to go with Gaby Sanchez and while the free agent market seems devoid of players at that position, it would have been nice to see the Pirates slightly overpay to fill that need. But there’s a difference between spending money to fill a need and spending money for the sake of spending money.
AJ Burnett has built a great resume over fifteen years in the majors but just because he logged 221 innings and 231 strikeouts at the age of 31 doesn’t mean he’ll do the same at age 37.
Burnett has always been touted as an “innings eater” despite the fact that he’s only thrown over 200 innings five times in his fifteen year career. He pitched well in 2013 but seemed to run out of gas down the final stretch despite missing a month due to a torn calf.
The torn calf muscle revealed something that happens to all athletes as they age: they break down. Burnett wasn’t injured sprinting to cover first base on a ground ball or beating out a throw. He was injured jogging around the field in the middle of the summer. Given how much pitchers rely on their legs to generate power, one cannot think that Burnett’s days on the DL are over.
Of course, injuries can happen to anyone but it is worth investigating if it is wise to spend $10+ million on a pitcher who could not only be injured but also has a higher probability given his age and wear and tear over the years.
When the Pirates traded for Burnett, they were in need of an ace to strengthen a young pitching staff. But as the 2013 playoffs showed, Burnett is no longer the ace; far from it. He made one appearance in the Fall Classic and was shelled, surrendering seven runs on two innings against the Cardinals in Game 1. Clint Hurdle elected to use Gerrit Cole in Game 5 who pitched extremely well but came up against a buzz saw in Adam Wainwright.
With the rotation already set with Fransisco Liriano, Charlie Morton, Gerrit Cole, plus the combination of Wandy Rodriguez, Jeff Locke, Jeanmar Gomez, Brandon Cumpton, AND the addition of Jameson Taillon (likely by June), the Pirates have a ton of starting pitching heading into the 2014 season.
The old adage is that you can never have enough pitching but at the same time, when you decide to drop serious coin on one player, you expect him to be a key piece to the championship puzzle. That time has come and gone for AJ Burnett and the Pirates. He may sign with a team like Baltimore and put up excellent numbers, but the Pirates should stick to the plan of using their farm system while saving their cash to re-sign some of their young talent. Obviously, the jury is still out on whether or not they will, but throwing a ton of money on a 37 year old pitcher hinders that possibility.
Photo courtesy of USA Today
