A.J. Burnett will rejoin the Pirates, signing a one-year deal that will pay him $8.5 million. Getting that figure is crucial, because now we can put an exact dollar amount on Burnett's desire to get out of Philadelphia and back to Pittsburgh.
Last week, Burnett declined a $12.75 million player option to remain with the Phillies. He clearly wasn't happy there, openly contemplating retirement toward the end of the season. But it sounds like his opting-out was more a function of wanting to return to Pittsburgh, where he pitched in 2012 and 2013.
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The Phillies surely don't mind Burnett's selflessness. They're probably going to end up paying tens of millions to get Ryan Howard out of town.