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Burnett asked to leave Marlins
A.J. Burnett was acquired by the Marlins from the New York Mets in 1999
On Monday, a day after he'd made critical comments about the Marlins' disappointing season, hard-throwing right-hander A.J. Burnett was asked by the organization to leave the team.
Shortly before the Marlins played the Nationals on Monday night, Burnett was called into manager Jack McKeon's office. With general manager Larry Beinfest and assistant general manager Mike Hill present, the 28-year-old was told he no longer was wanted by the club.
"He has left the team," said Beinfest. "He is not suspended. He continues to be paid. He was told prior to the game."
Armed with a 98-plus-mph fastball, Burnett has some of the most electrifying talent of any pitcher in the league. He is eligible to become a free agent after the season, but the Marlins will not be one of the teams doing the bidding.
"There will be no multiyear offer to A.J. this offseason," said Beinfest. "That's basically where we are at."
Acquired by the Marlins from the Mets in 1999 in a deal that sent Al Leiter to New York, Burnett departs as the Marlins' all-time leader in a number of pitching categories, including victories (49), strikeouts (753), shutouts (eight) and complete games (14). He also is the team leader in strikeouts for a game (14), accomplished twice, including on July 6 against the Brewers.
This season Burnett finished 12-12 with a 3.44 ERA, logging 209 innings, four complete games and two shutouts.
His frustrations, as well as the team's, stem from some disappointing performances down the stretch. The Marlins were leading the National League Wild Card race as recently as Sept. 13, but have dropped four straight, and 10 of 12.
Burnett has lost six straight decisions since improving to 12-6 on Aug. 19.
On Sunday he was the losing pitcher at Atlanta, giving up five runs (four earned) in six innings.
Afterward, he levied some harsh criticisms at the club.
"We played scared. We managed scared. We coached scared," he told reporters following the Marlins' 5-3 loss at Turner Field. "I'm sick of it, man. It's depressing around here. A 3-0 ballgame, I give up one run and leave guys on base, it's like they expect us to mess up. And when we do, they chew us out. There is no positive, nothing around here for anybody."
Burnett had been in line to pitch on Friday against the Braves in Miami. The Marlins now are going with right-hander Josh Johnson, a promising prospect called up in early September from Double-A Carolina.
"We want to give Johnson a shot," said Beinfest. "We feel he has a future here, a bright future here. We want to give him the experience. Recognizing that our [playoff] chances are slim at this point, we want to get some young kids out there and give them a shot."
Johnson has made three relief appearances, and has a 3.86 ERA with no decisions. He is expected to compete for a roster spot in Spring Training.
"I'm excited," said Johnson. "That's what I've been doing all year, [starting], so I'll get back into my comfort zone. I'll go out there, hopefully do well and take that into next year."
Burnett showed up on Monday as if reporting to any other game.
McKeon eventually broke the news to his pitcher, saying that he wouldn't be needed anymore and that it would be best if he went home. According to the manager, Burnett didn't say a word. He simply got up, shook hands and left. After the game, his personal belongings were removed from his locker, with some neatly hung shirts, pants and belts left behind.
"[Burnett] said he didn't want to pitch here, so we got a kid we want to look at," said McKeon.
Beinfest wouldn't get into specific reasons why Burnett was dismissed, but clearly, the postgame comments on Sunday were a factor.
"He stuck around here, and the organization kept him for us to have a shot at the pennant, and we failed," said the veteran Lenny Harris. "We didn't get it done. But we sail on the same ship, but A.J. chose to jump off.
Hopefully, he can jump on somewhere else and get [a better situation than the one] he had here."
It's been a topsy-turvy season for both Burnett and the Marlins. His name was one of the most talked about in the weeks before and up until the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, linked to deals with the Orioles, White Sox, Blue Jays and Nationals.
The native of Little Rock, Ark., has arguably one of the best fastballs in the league, occasionally topping out in the 100-mph range.
There is speculation that as a free agent he will attract strong interest from the Blue Jays, largely because the team's pitching coach, Brad Arnsberg, used to serve on the Marlins' staff. Burnett and Arnsberg developed a close friendship before the latter was dismissed as Florida's pitching coach on May 11, 2003.
Early in his career, Burnett made baseball history.
On May 12, 2001, he tossed the third no-hitter in Marlins' history, winning 3-0.
His best season was 2002, when he went 12-9 with a 3.30 ERA, striking out 203 in 204 1/3 innings. But in August of that season, the 6-foot-4, 240-pounder incurred some elbow problems that caused him to go on the disabled list. He finished the season with seven complete games and five shutouts, a team record.
Burnett opened the 2003 season on the DL because of elbow troubles, and on April 29 underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery.
"I think anything like this is a difficult decision," said Beinfest. "The message is, we want to go with the young pitcher on Friday night, and give him the experience and have him take the ball. We thought it was in the best interest of the team and A.J. for him to leave the team."
Source: MLB.com