MLB rumors: Baltimore Orioles still waiting on A.J. Burnett
By Bryan Rose
It’s been a strange offseason for the Baltimore Orioles. From the on-again, off-again contract with closer Grant Balfour to a lack of signing a big name power hitter (despite interest in about a dozen of them), the Orioles have yet to make much improvement – at least on paper.
One name they’ve continually been intrigued with is that of starting pitcher A.J. Burnett, who’ve they’ve been courting for a few months now. Burnett, who most recently pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates has been contemplating retirement but Baltimore has been attempting to talk him out of such.
They still don’t have a decision from Burnett – but it appears the Orioles aren’t interested in rushing the process as they will likely continue to wait until he makes a decision on his future:
"Last I heard on AJ Burnett was that #Orioles had him as main SP priority and may be waiting on him. #Pirates likely still an option."
Burnett is a solid pitcher, but why teams like Pittsburgh and Baltimore are waiting on him is a bit strange. Granted, he doesn’t come with a qualifying offer attached which is intriguing for the Orioles, but there are other names available who would likely provide similar statistics at a fair price when compared to Burnett.