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A.J. Burnett Return ‘Much Less Likely’ Says ESPN Radio’s David Todd
By Tom Smith
A.J Burnett is the man.
ESPN Radio David Todd had Pittsburgh Pirates GM Neal Huntington on his show today. That was the good news, the bad news was what Todd tweeted after the show.
After speaking w #Pirates GM Neal Huntington today, I think it is much less likely that AJ Burnett is back w team in ’14.
— David Todd (@DTonPirates) November 8, 2013
So with Todd tweeting his gut feeling on the return of the Dark Knight to Pittsburgh, just what is happening with the Burnett situation in Pittsburgh? Is it the retirement? Is it the flare ups with Hurdle and all of the things that haven’t seen the light of day from the Pittsburgh media? Or is it just negotiation at its’ best?
Just what possibly could keep the Pirates from getting A.J. back on the mound, well the Pirates money tree is a bit light it seems when doing all the roster math.
#Pirates Huntington on not giving AJ Burnett a qualifying offer: “$14M in one player was a bit steep for us."
— David Todd (@DTonPirates) November 8, 2013
So there is the latest update on the return of A.J. Burnett to a rotation that desperately needs another exclamation point in 2014. If this proves to be true, we would have to start speculating that Huntington has something else up his sleeve this offseason.