For all the fuss made over last season’s revamped Jays roster, the unthinkable happened: they finished dead last in the American League (AL) East, while their division rivals, the Boston Red Sox (underdogs at the start of the season), went on to win the World Series. Most players involved in the blockbuster Miami Marlins trade, including starting pitcher Mark Buherle and shortstop Jose Reyes, are here to stay for at least two more seasons.
Hard-throwing Josh Johnson, the other big name in the Miami trade, came to Toronto on the last season of his contract (approaching free agency) only to be plagued by injury trouble. When he did pitch, he was hardly ever on his game. Good riddance to this one—San Diego thought him to be worth just 8 million for just a year. They can have this guy.
However, this leaves the Jays with yet another hole to fill in what needs to be a solid starting rotation if they have any hope of doing better this year. Barring any further moves, this year’s rotation will likely feature returnees RA Dickey, Brandon Morrow, and JA Happ. If Kyle Drabek and Drew Hutchison shake off their injury problems, they may be on the five man rotation, yet these remain question marks. As such, it seems Jays GM Alex Anthopolous is indeed in the hunt for another starting pitcher via trade or even free agency.
Among available free agent pitchers is ex-Jay AJ Burnett. Though Burnett did hint strongly at retirement last season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he’s recently announced that he would like to play at least this season. This may be a good and relatively cheap option for the Jays without the commitment.
Signing players on the cheap has been the trademark of Jays Management following the Ricciardi era. Fans however, may not be thrilled about re-signing Burnett given that he left $24 million in Toronto, opting to sign an $82.5 million monster contract with arch-nemesis New York Yankees, the final two years of which have been with the Pirates. Yet his stats, though not super-stellar, are not too shabby for a 37 year old.
Burnett pitched nearly 400 innings last season, making 61 starts with a 3.30 earned run average. A sensible contract would be for just this season, with a potential club option for next season, depending on how well Burnett performs and whether or not he decides to retire. Don’t be surprised if we see him back in a Jays uniform this season—yet this will ultimately depend on if he has more generous options on the table. We all know why he went to the Yankees, now don’t we?
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