Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com reports that, even though A.J. Burnett has a player option that stands to make him $12.75 million next year, he’s leaning toward retirement:
It’s been a pretty bad year for A.J. He’s 6-14 with a 4.42 ERA. He also leads all of baseball with 76 walks. Playing for a losing team and, at times anyway, appearing frustrated, it’s not hard at all to see why he might want to hang it up. And if he does, he does the Phillies a financial favor.
The ball is completely in Burnett’s court -- or should we say wallet? -- because his deal is a player option. If the 37-year-old right-hander comes back for a 17th season, he gets the money. If he packs his baseball memories in a duffel bag and takes it to the house, he doesn’t get the money.
So, is Burnett going to pitch next season?
“I have no idea,” the pitcher said after taking the loss Tuesday night. “Probably not. But we’ll see.”
It’s been a pretty bad year for A.J. He’s 6-14 with a 4.42 ERA. He also leads all of baseball with 76 walks. Playing for a losing team and, at times anyway, appearing frustrated, it’s not hard at all to see why he might want to hang it up. And if he does, he does the Phillies a financial favor.