The New York Yankees reportedly made an offer to Blue Jays starting pitcher AJ Burnett Tuesday, an offer that would put reportedly put Burnett in pinstripes for five years, at a cost of $80 million.

And looking at it, this move makes complete sense for the Yankees–with Carl Pavano coming off the books, they have a real lack of starting pitchers with a track record of injury proneness mixed with mediocrity.

Burnett, who is already 31-years old, has had only three seasons of 200+ innings pitched in his career (although he did reach a career high of 221-1/3 in 2008), one season of more than 12 wins (18 in 2008, and two seasons of 12), and two seasons with 30+ starts (a career high 34 in 2008).

Looking at those 2008 numbers (18 wins, 34 starts, 221 innings) you might think the Yankees are getting a pitcher at his peak.  However, it should also be noted that his 2008 ERA was 4.07 (worst since 2003, when he had a 4.70 ERA in four starts), and his WHIP was 1.34 (also the highest it’s been since 2003, when it was 1.57).  Both are higher than his career averages of 3.75 and 1.28, respectively.

Combined, this tells me that the Yankees are going to pay an average of $16-million per season, for a pitcher who is far more likely to break down and be on the downside of his career than he is to be reaching the pinnacle.

Then again, in a league where Gil Meche gets $11-million per season, and Carlos Silva gets $12-million, the Yankees may have to be given credit for showing restraint.  But it still shows more the horrible state of contract situations in baseball more than anything else (more on that, and the true scourge of the game later on).