In the wake of the recent awful news that Phillies starter Cole Hamels is battling tendonitis in his elbow, the Phillies surely were desperate for an arm. As I mentioned in that piece, that could have been the reason for the Phillies' recent interest in free agent starting pitcher A.J. Burnett. Now, on the day that pitchers and catchers report to Clearwater, one reporter is reporting that the Phillies and Burnett have a deal:
Hearing Arkansas native A.J. Burnett has reached a one year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies. @THV11
— Hayden Balgavy (@HaydenBalgavy) February 12, 2014
Balgavy is indeed a legitimate journalist for THV channel 11 in Little Rock, Arkansas, so his good name is out on the line. This would not be the first time that a hometown reporter has broken news; a small-town Texas reporter broke the Phillies Mike Adams signing last year.
Burnett lives just under two hours away from Philadelphia in Maryland and is a neighbor of Phillies Assistant General Manager Scott Proefrock. The finalists for Burnett were reportedly Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore, though Baltimore appears more interested in free agent Ervin Santana. Pittsburgh has five starters with a pedigree under control and may have been less-willing to part with money.
Balgavy adds that the deal is for $16 million.
Jim Salisbury of CSN Philly and Todd Zolecki of MLB.com both have reported the same from the Phillies side of things.
Thank you to Matt Borelli for pointing out this tweet.
