Burrell signs for 2 yrs./$16 million

Peter Bendix hits the nail right on the head: The Rays just signed Pat Burrell to one heck of a deal.

Since Burrell knew he wasn't going to be back with the Phillies after they signed Raul Ibanez to a misguided deal, he probably did the next best thing by signing with the team he played against in the 2008 World Series.

It warrants mentioning that the Pirates need a right-handed power bat in the outfield (with a very good OBP history), and if 2 years at $8 million per year is all that it was going to take, well...

Obviously Burrell took less money to play for a contending team, but you could argue that if he's willing to take 2 years and $16 million from the Rays, the Pirates could've thrown 3 years, $27-$30 million and probably got the job done. Sure, his defense is terrible, but he more than makes up for it with the bat. FanGraphs has him worth $12.6 million last year, so $9-$10 million a year is a significant discount, even to play for such a lousy team. It was at least worth pursuing, if in fact Team Neil never pursued him.

I wouldn't be surprised if someone asks Dejan in the next Q&A whether the Pirates even bothered to give Burrell's agent a call.