"According to sources, the Pirates will pay about $14 million of the money left on Burnett’s contract. The Yankees have been paying Burnett throughout the year, rather than just during the six months of the baseball season, so they’ve already paid him $2.625 million in 2012, meaning there is $30.375 million remaining on Burnett’s deal.
Burnett signed the five-year, $82.5 million deal after a 2008 season in which he was terrific for the Blue Jays, including multiple dominant outings against the Yankees. He was so good that some Yankees lobbied GM Brian Cashman to sign him and Burnett paid off in ’09, going 13-9 with a 4.04 ERA in the regular season and 1-1 in the World Series victory over Philadelphia.
But Burnett, 35, struggled the last two seasons, rarely approaching his previous success. With a glut of pitchers for the rotation after signing Hiroki Kuroda and trading for Michael Pineda, the Yanks cleared space by dealing Burnett for hard-throwing reliever Diego Moreno and outfielder Exicardo Cayones. Now Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia will vie for the No. 5 spot."
The numbers don't really add up and Cashman simply made a mistake by signing Burnett in the first place.
In my opinion, the Yankees simply got sick and tired of the psychological and emotional toll that Burnett took on the coaching staff and the team.
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