THE NEW YORK Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates have made progress toward a trade that would send much-maligned righthander A.J. Burnett to Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh would pay at least $10 million of the $33 million Burnett is owed in the final two seasons of his $82.5 million, 5-year contract, a person familiar with the discussions said yesterday.
The exact amount of money involved in the trade depends on the quality of the prospects the Yankees would receive, the person said.
Burnett, a 35-year-old righthander, has struggled to a 34-35 record and 4.79 ERA during three seasons with New York and went 11-11 with a 5.15 ERA last year. His average of 3.98 walks per nine innings is second in the AL and fifth in the majors during that span among pitchers with 400 or more innings, according to STATS LLC.
Burnett would join a rotation that includes newly signed Erik Bedard and returnees James McDonald, Kevin Correia and Jeff Karstens.
David Ortiz and the Boston Red Sox avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a 1-year contract worth $14,575,000. Ortiz, 36, hit .309 with 29 homers and 96 RBI last year. He is fifth in team history with 320 homers.
* Righthander Jon Garland, 32, who has won 132 games in the majors for five teams, agreed to a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians, who have four starting spots filled, but want to add depth and experience.
Garland's 2011 season was cut short by a shoulder injury. He went 1-5 with a 4.33 ERA in only nine starts for the Los Angeles Dodgers before shoulder surgery in July.
* Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes, an outfielder, and the Oakland Athletics have agreed to a $36 million, 4-year contract.
