Having assumed all along that right-hander A.J. Burnett would not be returning, the Blue Jays are comfortable with the official parting of ways now that Burnett has signed a five-year deal with the division-rival Yankees.
The Jays may have preferred to see Burnett sign with a National League club, but they will still end up with the Yankees' second-round draft pick this June plus a "sandwich pick" between the first and second rounds as compensation. The only regret for the Jays is that they wished they had gotten more out of him early in his Toronto tenure.
"For us, I think we would have liked to have seen him pitch a little more in those first two years," general manager J.P. Ricciardi said. "Obviously health played a role. But when he took the ball, he was fine for us."
Manager Cito Gaston, meanwhile, said that even if the Jays had been able to bring Burnett back, they probably wouldn't have been able to compete for a playoff berth.
"If you really sit down and look at it, would it make us a better team if we signed A.J. back right now?" Gaston said. "I don't think so. It wouldn't make us a bad team, but do we have enough? Do we have enough to get to where we want to go with him back? We have two other starters (Dustin McGowan and Shaun Marcum) missing (because of injuries)."
