With the Giants coming out victorious, the clock starts ticking toward the start of the free agency period. Teams have five days after the conclusion of the World Series to make qualifying offers to their free agents. Those players then have another week to make a decision. Although the Phillies are extremely unlikely to offer any of their free agents a qualifying offer, but pitcher A.J. Burnett has the same time to notify the Phillies if he will exercise his 2015 player option in his contract.
Burnett, who will be 38 at the start of the season, can return to the team if he decides pick up his $12.5 million player option in the contract he signed last February. That option rose from $7.5 million, because Burnett was able to make 32 starts during the 2014 season.
After the 2014 season, Burnett was uncertain if he wanted to come back for his 17th big-league season.
Burnett said, “There are too many things. Off the bat, my family. It’s ultimately going to come down to me. I had the same thoughts last year. Then I woke up and I wantd to compete. So I can’t just shut that down id it’s still there. But then again, my kids, they have a say in it.”
With that said, Burnett clearly didn’t have his mind made up after going 8-18 with a 4.49 ERA last season, while pitching through a sport hernia injury. Burnett did lead all MLB pitchers in the loss and walk departments though.
If Burnett takes his players option, the 2015 Phillies five-man rotation could look like Cole Hamels, A.J. Burnett, Cliff Lee, David Buchanan, and Jerome Williams, with Jonathan Pettibone as a possible sixth man.
Andrew Shipotofsky is a writer for Philliedelphia
