THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — The long anticipated breakup between A.J. Burnett and the Toronto Blue Jays finally happened Tuesday, with both sides insisting the split isn’t necessarily a permanent one.
Darek Braunecker, agent for the flame-throwing right-hander, informed the club of his client’s intention to opt out of the remaining two years and US$24 million on his contract, setting the stage for Burnett to become a free agent.
The Blue Jays still have an exclusive window of negotiations with their No. 2 starter until Nov. 14, the day he officially hits the open market. Once that happens, it’s difficult to imagine him returning to pitch behind ace Roy Halladay in 2009, brave talk from the jilted party aside. Several free-spending teams are expected to enter the fray for his services should he become available.
"I don’t see it that way," Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi said from the general managers meetings in Dana Point, Calif. "I see it as him having a chip, so to speak, and playing the chip and seeing if the chip is something that’s worthwhile for him to go in a different direction.
"I know that he likes it in Toronto. Now does that mean that he’s ultimately going to stay in Toronto? No. But if we weren’t of any type of interest, I know they would have told us by now."
The key question, of course, is just how strong is Burnett’s interest in coming back.
Braunecker termed all the discussions he’s had thus far with the Blue Jays as "productive" and expects them to continue in a positive fashion. But exercising the opt out, he added, "is something we needed to do just to give us the opportunity to assess the market and who the other interested parties are."
Burnett joins the upper tier of pitchers available behind headliner CC Sabathia, equal to or better than Ryan Dempster of Gibsons, B.C., Derek Lowe and Ben Sheets. He’s expected to draw big offers from the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox and perhaps the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals.
Four years in excess of $15 million per is a likely starting point, even in these uncertain economic times. Burnett bailed on the $55-million, five-year deal he signed in December 2005.
The Blue Jays won’t get any sort of discount, so they’ll have to hope that the comfort zone Burnett has in Toronto with Halladay, his teammates, pitching coach Brad Arnsberg and manager Cito Gaston plus a reasonably competitive offer is enough to bring him back.
Ricciardi won’t get into a bidding war, even though his rotation is paper thin without Burnett.
"We’ve got certain resources we’ve got to abide by," said Ricciardi, who likely has $20-$25 million to spend on a $100 million payroll. "If it’s ultimately the last dollar, which I don’t believe it is, we’re never going to be that team."
Burnett’s absence leaves Ricciardi needing to know soon when to switch gears and seek a replacement. Even though the GM said the sides have yet to talk money or term on a new deal, he insists he won’t let the situation drag.
"I don’t think this will go to the winter meetings (Dec. 8-11)," said Ricciardi. "We’ll know what’s going to happen, what direction are we going to go a lot sooner than that."
One school of thought suggests Burnett’s opt out may be a blessing in disguise for the Blue Jays. Before his breakout 2008 season — when he went 18-10 with a 4.07 ERA in 34 starts, throwing a career-high 221 1-3 innings with 231 strikeouts — some in the organization would have been glad to see him walk, tired of his inability to harness his vast potential.
His raw stuff is among the best in baseball — a fastball that touches 99 m.p.h., plus a nasty mid-80s curve — but he’s been maddeningly inconsistent throughout his career and has made regular trips to the disabled list.
Four trips to the DL were made during his first two seasons in Toronto, with Ricciardi publicly questioning Burnett’s willingness to pitch through pain in each of those years.
There were also some bad feelings created when in June when he mused to a Chicago reporter about the possibility of being dealt to the Cubs prior to the trade deadline, later defending his comments by saying, "who would not want to play for the Cubs, bottom line?"
And some are suspicious that his two best seasons in 2005 and ’08, both came in contract years.
But his importance to the Blue Jays increased as he began to fulfil his potential and helped Halladay carry the load when injuries struck starters Dustin McGowan and Shaun Marcum.
Those injuries leave the Jays with Halladay and Jesse Litsch as the only sure things in the rotation. Rookie David Purcey is likely to earn a spot, with prospects Ricky Romero and Brett Cecil also in the mix. There’s hope Casey Janssen, returning from shoulder surgery, and McGowan, who could return in May, could combine to fill another spot. Reliever Scott Downs could be converted back into a starter.
That’s a lot of uncertainty for a pitching rotation in the brutal AL East and while Burnett himself isn’t money in the bank to deliver 200 innings, he’d help give the Blue Jays a legitimate shot at staying competitive in a division that’s only getting tougher.
"We wanted to make sure that he wanted to stay and with that being said, I think we knew all along that exercising his opt out was something he was going to do," said Ricciardi. "We’ll just see how it plays out."
