Nationals meet with free agent Burnett

11/16/2005
In need of starting pitching, members of the Nationals' front office had dinner with free agent A.J. Burnett and his agent, Darek Braunecker, at Forge Restaurant in Miami on Wednesday night, MLB.com has learned.
Representing the Nationals were general manager Jim Bowden, assistant general managers Bob Boone and Tony Siegle, Jose Rijo, a special assistant to the general manager, and interim farm director Andy Dunn.
The Nationals are one of nine teams that are interested in Burnett's services. Burnett has already met with the Blue Jays, and Braunecker has had discussions with the Tigers, according to published reports.
The Nationals are looking for at least two starting pitchers, and Burnett could possibly fill one of those spots in a big way. Last season, he went 12-12 with a 3.44 ERA and 198 strikeouts for the Marlins. Having a rotation headed by Burnett, Livan Hernandez and John Patterson would help put the Nationals in the right direction.
The dinner between Burnett and the Nationals lasted from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Burnett declined to comment on the dinner engagement except to say the meeting with the Nationals "was positive."
Members of the Nationals didn't comment, but a source familiar with the meeting said they were impressed with Burnett. The Nationals even had Hernandez, a former Marlin, give Burnett a call about playing for Nationals.
"The meeting went real well. Just the thought that he wanted to meet with the Nationals was great. He is a very bright guy. He liked what we brought to the table," the source said. "He knows he is going to get the money [somewhere], but he wanted to know what he was going to deal with in Washington, what kind of place he wanted to play. He wants to play for a team that is committed to winning, raise his family and pitch every fifth day."
According to published reports, Burnett is looking for a five-year contract, but whether the Nationals can give him that kind of deal remains to be seen. The team still doesn't have a budget and is waiting for ownership to be in place. Braunecker said it would be nice if ownership was in place soon so Burnett can familiarize himself with his potential bosses.
"We recognize if somebody is going to go out and pay $450 million for a club, they are probably going to be committed to winning," Braunecker said. "It would certainly help the situation, not only with A.J., but any free agent they are in discussions with. How much will having ownership help? I couldn't tell you that, but it would be beneficial to have ownership in place."
The Nationals are hoping that Burnett's wife, Karen, will play a role in the right-hander coming to the Nationals. She is from Bowie, Md.
"It's yet to be determined if [Karen will play a role]," Braunecker said. "We are just working through the process. We are in the initial stages. We are meeting with clubs, trying to assess where they are at. We are down to a field of nine clubs. Those are the clubs we are conducting meetings with. What influence [Karen will have] on the decision, we don't know yet. I don't know if [she will] have any at the end of the day."

Source: http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/