A.J. Burnett signs with Yankees
It has now been made clear that A.J. Burnett has selected the New York Yankees as his 2009 team. He has officially signed a 5-year contract worth a reported $82.5 million dollars, averaging $16.5 million dollars a year.
The North Little Rock native has been one of the top pitching free-agents in the market, and with the other addition of C.C. Sabathia, the Yankees now have one of the best rotations in baseball.
Burnett, who will be 32 on January 3rd, went 18-10 in 2008 with a respectable 4.07 ERA. He led the American League in strikeouts with 231, a single season record among Arkansas-born players. He also tied for the league lead with 34 starts.
With 1,278, Burnett is also the all-time strikeout leader among Arkansans.