It is official; AJ. Burnett has been traded to the Pirates by the Yankees and the player will not be seen playing in the pinstripes jersey now. A trade deal was finalized between the Pirates and Yankees on Sunday which has sent the pitcher to the Pirates in return of some minor leaguers. New York Yankees are also providing the Pirates with almost $20 million in order to cover the high salary of A J. Burnett in a negotiation deal which will allow Yankees to take on Raul Ibanez.
Both teams accepted the terms of the deal on Friday but Burnett had to pass a physical exam before which the deal could not have been finalized or couldn’t have been made official. The physical exam was passed by the man on Sunday at the Pirates camp as catchers and pitchers played in their first workout session of spring in Bradenton, Fla. Moreover, Bud Selig, the commissioner, also had to give his approval to the trade deal because of the hefty money involved.
Jeff Karstens, Pirates right hander but who has also pitched for the NY Yankees said that after playing in New York, playing in Pittsburgh is not really what he will call easy but the pressure and demand that everything else which comes along with the whole package is less and that is something that should make Burnett’s transition her a bit easy. Adding further, he said that anytime the team adds a quality arm like Burnett to the team, it is going to make the rest of them feel better.
As a part of the trade, the NY Yankees will be getting Diego Moreno, 25 year old right handed and Exicardo Cayones, 20 year old outfielder. Both players who have been transferred to the Yankees are low level prospects.
A person close to the matter said that Pittsburgh will be paying out $13 million to Burnett of the total $33 million for this year and the coming year. However, neither of the teams involved in the deal have announced the money involved in the deal.
