A.J. Burnett will rejoin the Pirates, signing a one-year deal that will pay him $8.5 million. Getting that figure is crucial, because now we can put an exact dollar amount on Burnett's desire to get out of Philadelphia and back to Pittsburgh.


Last week, Burnett declined a $12.75 million player option to remain with the Phillies. He clearly wasn't happy there, openly contemplating retirement toward the end of the season. But it sounds like his opting-out was more a function of wanting to return to Pittsburgh, where he pitched in 2012 and 2013.


The Phillies surely don't mind Burnett's selflessness. They're probably going to end up paying tens of millions to get Ryan Howard out of town.