Jays in Burnett holding pattern
BASEBALL WINTER MEETINGS Free agent’s decision key to strategy Signing could open trade floodgates
DALLAS— A man holding the keys to what the Blue Jays do here this week at the baseball winter meetings arrived late yesterday with plenty of baggage.
We’re not talking about general manager J. P. Ricciardi, who showed up midday at the Wyndham Anatole Hotel to join his entourage of assistants. Instead, it was the 5: 20 p. m. check- in by Darek Braunecker, agent to none other than free agent pitcher A. J. Burnett, that signaled Toronto’s week was truly about to begin.
Ricciardi figures it could take “ until the middle of the week” before Burnett decides on whether to accept a five- year offer from the Jays. Rookie agent Braunecker, under increased pressure to land the big contract numbers that keep getting associated with his client, agreed that “ it might go that long, or somebody can phone us up tomorrow and the deal will be done.”
Until that happens, the Jays continue to lay the groundwork for trades that likely won’t be realized until after they know whether or not Burnett will be in their rotation. Trades figure to be a bigger part of these meetings than in previous years, given the lack of quality free agents, and for the first time in recent memory the Jays are poised to be one of the bigger players.
“ We’ve got things that we’re working on right now, but we’re still waiting to see what happens with A. J.,” said Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava, pausing from an afternoon of meetings to grab acoffee in the hotel lobby. “ Until we know we’ve got him or we don’t, we can’t really proceed.”
Baseball is still reeling from Ricciardi’s decision to give closer B. J. Ryan a five- year, $47 million (all figures U.S.) package that has driven the cost of relief pitching through the proverbial roof. After years of being constrained to a $50 million budget by team owner Rogers Communications, Ricciardi now has extra cash but also a huge challenge ahead in convincing free agents that Toronto is a favourable destination. The scuttlebutt in the hotel lobby yesterday was that Burnett is leaning towards accepting an offer from the St. Louis Cardinals and is hoping they would guarantee a fifth year to their proposal. St. Louis last week offered Burnett a fouryear deal worth roughly $40 million with an option for a fifth season.
Braunecker denied his client prefers any one team, but it’s become obvious the competition for Burnett is down to St. Louis and Toronto.
If the Jays fail to land Burnett, they would still have the potential to get in on the expected trade bonanza for Oakland A’s lefthander Barry Zito, who
could wind up being the showstopper of the meetings. With one season to go until free agency, Zito will almost certainly require a renegotiated multi- year package from any team he is traded to and the Jays — if Burnett joins free agent Brian Giles in spurning Toronto’s overtures — will be flush with enough cash to make a tempting proposal. But Toronto’s biggest achievement at these meetings could be its ability to remake a batting order that was among the most power- deprived in all of baseball last season. Look for the names of Texas Rangers outfielder Kevin Mench and Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Lyle Overbay to keep coming up this week as the Jays engage in talks on both. The groundwork already appears to have been made for a Mench deal, though sources say the Rangers are reluctant to pull the trigger until they can land another outfielder.
Texas is already thin in the outfield and has been in hard pursuit of Florida Marlins centre fielder and leadoff man Juan Pierre. Any deal with the Jays for Mench would likely have to wait until the Rangers get an answer on Pierre. As for the talk of Orlando Hudson being involved in that deal, the Rangers first would have to unload incumbent second baseman Alfonso Soriano and his heavy contract. Whatever happens over the next four days, one certainty is that the Jays know they have to come away from here sporting a different look.