The New York Yankees have desperately been trying to rid themselves of starting pitcher A.J. Burnett, and are reportedly willing to eat a large portion of the $33 million due Burnett in the final two years of his contract. The Pittsburgh Pirates and Cleveland Indians have been reportedly interested in Burnett, who won't be joining the Los Angeles Angels.
Burnett exercised his no-trade clause to block a deal that would have sent designated hitter Bobby Abreu to the Yankees, per Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com, for the most bizarre of reasons:
But the Angels were one of the teams on Burnett's no-trade list, and reports out of New York said the enigmatic right-hander declined to move west because his wife is afraid of flying. The Yankees, according to various publications, are still trying to work out a deal with the Pirates.
Abreu is due $9 million in 2012, but with Albert Pujols at first base the Angels have several other options at designated hitter, including Kendrys Morales and Mike Trumbo, before getting to trying to make room in the outfield for Mike Trout by transitioning Vernon Wells to DH.
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