Burnitz

[Baseball Guru]

Hearing that the Pirates are set to sign him and may make an announcement as early as today..

Anyone else hearing this?

[3-2 Changeup]

Now we're talking, although Burnitz is a bit long in the tooth.

Pirates near deal with outfielder Burnitz
Contract could be richest for free agent in franchise history
Tuesday, January 03, 2006

By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



The Pirates are close to a deal to sign free-agent outfielder Jeromy Burnitz.

The sides have agreed to most aspects of a contract, a source close to the negotiations said yesterday, but some details remain, including Burnitz passing a physical. It is not known precisely what the other details are, but the source said they were not likely to prevent an agreement, which could be achieved in the next day or two.

Multiple reports out of Baltimore last week said Burnitz had agreed to a two-year deal with the Orioles worth between $10 million and $12 million. But Howard Simon, Burnitz's Connecticut-based agent, insisted yesterday that no deal had been struck and that he had told reporters only that he was "staying in close touch" with the Orioles.

Simon's focus in the past three days has shifted to discussions with Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield.

Simon declined to offer specifics, but it is believed that Burnitz's contract would be for two years with a total value in the range of $12 million, which would make it the richest free-agent signing in the Pirates' history. However much they are offering, it appears it is more than still-on-the-table offers from the Orioles and Houston Astros.

Burnitz, who will turn 37 April 15, fits the description of the type of player Littlefield has been targeting for right field. He is a left-handed power hitter, with 299 career home runs to go with a .255 average, and is sound defensively.

The Pirates' courtship of Burnitz is their second in as many years. He was the only prominent free agent they pursued last offseason, and they narrowly lost out on his services to the Chicago Cubs. Each team offered a $4.5 million salary, but the Cubs added a $7 million option for 2006 with a $500,000 buyout.

Chicago exercised that buyout after last season, one in which Burnitz batted .258 with 24 home runs, 31 doubles and 87 RBIs. He led the team with 160 games played and 40 two-out RBIs.

Most of Burnitz's production for the Cubs came out of the cleanup spot, which is where the Pirates would use him, with Jason Bay and Sean Casey batting around him -- one in the third spot, the other fifth -- and Joe Randa at sixth. Burnitz has topped 100 strikeouts in each of his nine full seasons of Major League Baseball, including 109 last year, but management says it believes it can minimize that by surrounding him with good contact men such as Casey and Randa.

It might seem Burnitz's bat would be a good fit for PNC Park, given the proximity of the Clemente Wall in right field and his ability to pull the ball, but his history there is spotty. He has a .174 average and three home runs in 92 at-bats.

There is little doubt Burnitz would be a good fit in right field. He showed two seasons ago in Denver's spacious Coors Field he could cover enough ground to spend 69 games as the Colorado Rockies' center fielder, and he would not have nearly that much territory at PNC Park. Also, he has a strong and accurate arm that would be accented by the shorter throws to the infield.

Right field is the last unchecked mark on Littlefield's list of positions he said he hoped to upgrade this offseason, the others being first base (Casey), third base (Randa) and right-handed relief (Roberto Hernandez).

The Pirates, who have an estimated $9 million to spend toward their payroll for next season, considered several possibilities for the spot.

One was a brief inquiry with Preston Wilson, the most expensive free agent remaining. Bob Bry, Wilson's Missouri-based agent, said yesterday that he spoke twice with Littlefield early last week and that it was clear they would go no further.

Another was the chance of making a trade with Tampa Bay for Aubrey Huff, a player they long have coveted. A source close to the Devil Rays said over the weekend that it was not clear if the Pirates had pushed for Huff, who has been on the trading block for three months.

[Greymire]

I am not sure how I feel about this. Big money for a 37 year old .255 hitter? It just does not seem to fit with the Pirates direction. Especially if it is 12 million for 2 years. This could be a major bust for the Bucco's. He strikes out as much a s Craig Wilson and at this point in his career, might not hit as many home runs. We would have to pray that he can still hit 30 plus and that is far from a given at his age. I am afraid this could turn into another Derek Bell in a hurry. Surely for that kind of money they coould have done better this off season.

[Baseball Guru]

It just seems strange that Burnitz would command the largest contract in Pirates history:notme:

[3-2 Changeup]

Pirates closing in on deal with Burnitz

By ALAN ROBINSON, AP Sports Writer
January 3, 2006

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Outfielder Jeromy Burnitz was attempting to finalize terms Tuesday on a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates, less than a week after it appeared he had a two-year deal with the Baltimore Orioles.

The Pirates deal is expected to be worth at least $6 million and would include an option for the 2007 season. Burnitz's agent, Howard Simon, was discussing a $12 million, two-year contract with Baltimore last week, but that agreement never was finalized.

If the Pirates get Burnitz -- and it appeared they needed only to finish up some contract language and have him take a physical -- it would all but complete their offseason wish list of landing a power-hitting right fielder, adding a third baseman and first baseman and improving their right-handed relief pitching.

After being rejected by former Red Sox third baseman Bill Mueller, the Pirates signed third baseman Joe Randa to a $4 million, one-year deal last week. They also signed 41-year-old reliever Roberto Hernandez to a $2.75 million, one-year contract.

Their biggest offseason move to date to improve a club that lost 95 games last season was trading for first baseman Sean Casey, a Pittsburgh-area native and a player they have long coveted. They dealt their No. 5 starter, left-hander Dave Williams, to the Reds for Casey, a .305 career hitter.

The Pirates sought to add Burnitz a year ago, but he signed instead with the Cubs and went on to hit .258 with 24 homers and 87 RBIs. Burnitz, who will be 37 in April, has 92 homers while playing for four clubs over the last three seasons and has 299 homers for his career, with 1,302 strikeouts.

Despite Burnitz's age, the Pirates think his left-handed power should be a big plus at PNC Park, with its cozy right field home-run deck. The Pirates also expect the left-handed hitting Casey to improve his power numbers; he had nine homers last season after hitting 24 the previous season with Cincinnati.

The Orioles went after Burnitz after they chose not to re-sign outfielder Eric Byrnes, a former Oakland player who was also pursued by the Pirates a year ago. The Pirates also made a pitch for Byrnes last week, but he chose to sign a $2.25 million, one-tear contract with Arizona, or about what the Pirates offered him.

Now, after not getting Byrnes, the Pirates may wind up with the player the Orioles wanted rather than Byrnes.

It remains uncertain whether Baltimore will try to trade for Red Sox outfielder Manny Ramirez, who has asked to be traded. The Orioles' own marquee player, shortstop Miguel Tejada, said recently he wanted a "change of scenery" because the Orioles have not moved to significantly improve their team. Tejada is going into the third year of a $72 million, six-year contract.

Red Sox president Larry Lucchino said Tuesday he had "no comment at this time" about any matters relating to a possible Ramirez trade.

If the Pirates finalize the Burnitz contract, they must decide what to do with Craig Wilson, the 29-year-old outfielder-first baseman who hit a club-high 29 homers for them in 2004. Wilson missed most of last season with two hand injuries and was limited to 5 homers in 197 at-bats.

The Pirates have offered a contract to Wilson, who made $3 million last year and is eligible for salary arbitration. Since Wilson would likely get about $4 million in arbitration, the low-budget Pirates must decided if they can afford to play him that much money to be a part-time player.

Burnitz was not in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, so the earliest he could take a physical would be Wednesday.



Updated on Tuesday, Jan 3, 2006 2:15 pm EST

[3-2 Changeup]

Report: Burnitz agrees to deal with Pirates, not O'sESPN.com news services


Jeromy Burnitz has reportedly flown the coop before he even landed.

Jeromy Burnitz
Right Field
Baltimore Orioles

Profile
2005 SEASON STATISTICS
GM HR RBI R OBP AVG
160 24 87 84 .322 .258


The free-agent outfielder, who according to The Associated Press had agreed to a deal with the Baltimore Orioles last week, has instead reportedly agreed to a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Pirates deal is expected to be worth at least $6 million and would include an option for the 2007 season, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. It appeared the Pirates needed only to finish up some contract language and have Burnitz take a physical before finalizing the deal.

Burnitz was not in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, so the earliest he could take a physical would be Wednesday.

An Orioles source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the AP last week that Burnitz had agreed to a deal that would pay the right fielder between $10 million and $12 million. The Baltimore Sun had also reported that an Orioles deal with Burnitz was close.

However, Howard Simon, Burnitz's agent, told the Post-Gazette that no deal had been agreed to with the Orioles and that he had told reporters only that he was "staying in close touch" with Baltimore.

The 36-year-old Burnitz hit .258 with 24 homers and 87 RBI with the Chicago Cubs last season.

Burnitz has played for four teams in three years. The left-handed hitter has 299 career home runs, but he's also struck out 1,302 times.

Burnitz played in 160 games last season with the Cubs. In 2004 with the Colorado Rockies, he had 37 homers and 110 RBI in 150 games.

[imgreat95]

It just seems strange that Burnitz would command the largest contract in Pirates history:notme:


It would be the largest free agent contract.... not largest overall contract.