Phils Finally Make Impact Move

Burnett's years in Pittsburgh may be his best to date.

After a long, cold, largely uneventful winter, the Phils finally made a move that instantly improves their chances of contending in 2014-- if not for the division, certainly for one of the NL's 2 Wild Card playoff spots.  Of course, that will depend, much as it did in '13 and much to the Phils chagrin, on the health of the team's aging core.  The Phils re-signed 2B Chase Utley and C Carlos Ruiz, 35 Years-old, each, added former Phillies OF Marlon Byrd, 36, and on Wednesday starting pitcher Allan James Burnett, 37 and verging on retirement.  The veteran right-hander A.J. Burnett is now #3 in their rotation, behind Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee, after signing a one-year deal that will pay him $16 million.

Burnett, a 15-year veteran, pitched his first 7 years in Florida, his next 3 for the NY Yankees, followed by a resurrecting 2 years in Pittsburgh before joining his 4th team, the Phils on 2/12.  He has benefitted from his return to the NL.  In his career, Burnett has a 4.39 AL ERA (6 years) vs. a 3.63 NL ERA (9 years).

It is welcome news for Philly fans, who have been scratching their heads wondering if the Phils think they can compete in '14, and if so, why they aren't making any significant upgrades to indicate it?  Reigning Champs Atlanta is good and young and Washington, already talented, improved their rotation during the offseason.  Now, the Phillies have made their first truly big splash on the free agent market this winter, turning heads from the Eagles exciting 2nd-half success and encouraging fans that they are still in the game.  

Burnett, who crosses the state to the City of Brotherly Love, is coming off a '13 season in which he notched a 3.30 ERA and career-best 3.12 K/BB ratio in 191 innings for the Pittsburgh Pirates.  He led the entire NL in strikeout rate. 

Burnett considered retirement for much of the winter, but last month decided to pitch a final season. The Pirates, Orioles and Nationals had been hotly pursuing him.  He was determined to go where he thought he could win and that turned out to be Philadelphia. 

NY was a mixed bag for the right-hander.

Burnett's potential in Philadelphia is acutely high. He is both a strikeout and a groundball pitcher which should fit perfectly at Citizens Bank Park, where keeping the ball inside the park is key.  Last year, he boasted a 2.33 groundball/fly ball ratio.  Burnett has been among league-leaders in this during his career, averaging 0.9 HR/9 innings. In his final year with the Yankees and largely at their notoriously hitter-friendly stadium Burnett allowed over 25 HRs (31) for the only time in his entire 15-year career.

Burnett, due to age, has lost something on his trademark  four-seam fastball.  It used to clock at 96 MPH and is now in the low 90's.  However, this resulted in his development of his sinking 2-seam fastball, which has increased his groundball efficiency.

Burnett is 2-3 with a 6.37 ERA in 8 postseason games.  He has real postseason experience, having notched 41 innings of playoff baseball.  From '09-'11, he appeared in the playoffs for the Yankees, then in '13 he returned for the Pirates, his lone NL postseason run, where he was knocked around brutally by the Cardinals, surrendering 7 runs on 6 hits (including a HR), 1 hit batsman and 4 BB in just 2 nightmarish innings.  He was the Pirates' Game 1 starter and was overlooked by the team for the deciding Game 5, although he was due up in the rotation.

“He informed us it was family-based,” Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said of Burnett's decision to leave Pittsburgh for Philadelphia. “The player made a decision to be closer to home. I was told he really loved his time here. It was a really hard decision for him.”

  

Huntington said the Pirates wanted to retain Burnett.

“A.J. would have had the biggest single impact of any move we could have made this offseason,” he said.

Wednesday, Cole Hamels announced that shoulder tendinitis will delay the start of his season, but likely not affect it detrimentally as no surgery or significant procedures are required.

He won 18 games in '08 in Toronto.

While at age 37 and flirting with retirement, Burnett has been extremely effective the last two seasons.


Back in '08, he won a career high 18 games in his final year in Toronto.  However, his ERA that year was 4.07. 


It was his return to the NL, pitching for the Pirates in '12 and '13 that enabled Burnett to achieve perhaps his career best work to date. 


In '12 he was 16-10 with a 3.51 ERA, a 1.24 WHIP.  In '13 he went 10-11, but with a 3.30 ERA, a 1.21 WHIP.


From 2012-13, he struck out 8.9 batters per nine innings and induced groundballs at a 58% clip, #2 in MLB.

Burnett began in Florida.

There is no doubt this is an upgrade, even if you simply look at Burnett as a replacement, one-for-one, for the now retired Roy Halladay in the team's starting rotation.  Both pitchers entered '13 the same age.  However, their seasons couldn't have been any more different.  Halladay won 4 games with a 6.87 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP in his injury-plagued final season.  Burnett, meanwhile, won 10 games with a 3.30 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP and was his team's game 1 playoff starting pitcher.  


More than anything else this offseason, this sends a message to fans that Amaro Jr. and his front office have not given up hope on the current roster.  They are trying to win this year and do think they can compete-- or at least they want us to think they do.


Either way, the Phillies greatest foes this season won't be Atlanta or Washington.  The challenge this year will be overcoming last year's nemesis: Father Time.  The health of their veteran roster will determine their competitive viability over the long haul of 162 games and whether the addition of Burnett will help them play on into October.