The Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees have reached an agreement on a trade that will send A.J. Burnett to the Pirates in exchange for two prospects.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reports that the two sides are putting the finishing touches on the two lower level prospects going to the Yankees.
The two sides have finalized the amount of money the Pirates will pick up and the Pirates will pay $13 million of the $33 million Burnett is owed the next two seasons.
Once the deal gets league approval, Burnett is scheduled to take a physical with the team this weekend.
With the Burnett deal reaching the final stages, the Pirates will enter spring training with what the team feels is seven legitimate starters for the upcoming season in Burnett, Erik Bedard, Jeff Karstens, Kevin Correia, Charlie Morton, James McDonald and Brad Lincoln.
Charlie Morton is recovering from off-season hip surgery and the Pirates have been optimistic that he will be healthy and in the starting rotation by late April at the latest.
However, with Morton not expected to be at full strength for the start of spring training, Burnett, Bedard, Karstens, Correia and McDonald project as the team’s top-5 to open camp.
Despite lingering questions about his health, Pirates executives see Erik Bedard as a top of the rotation guy.