Pittsburgh Pirates Agree To Terms With Francisco Liriano

Ed Zurga/Getty Images(NEW YORK) --  The Pittsburgh Pirates have agreed to terms with free agent lefty Francisco Liriano on a two-year contract worth $12.75 million, according to ESPN.

The 29-year-old Liriano spent the first five and a half seasons with the Minnesota Twins, before being traded to the Chicago White Sox in July,

In six full MLB seasons Liriano posts a 53-54 record with a 4.40 ERA.

His career highlights include pitching a no-hitter in May 2011 but has struggled mightily since, going 6-12 with a 5.34 ERA in 2012.

Liriano will join a Pittsburgh rotation that features a resurgent A.J. Burnett along with Wandy Rodriguez and James McDonald.

The Pirates are coming off of 20 straight losing seasons, finishing 79-83 this past year.

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Scoreboard Roundup - 7/31/12

J. Meric/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- MLB: The Pittsburgh Pirates (59-44) defeated the Chicago Cubs (43-59), 5-0. Pirates starting pitcher A.J. Burnett had a no-hitter through 7 2/3 innings.

The Cincinnati Reds (62-41) one upped the San Diego Padres (44-61), 7-6.

The Philadelphia Phillies (46-57) blanked the Washington Nationals (61-41), 8-0.

The Milwaukee Brewers (47-56) pounded the Houston Astros (35-70), 10-1.

The St. Louis Cardinals (55-48), defeated the Colorado Rockies (37-64), 11-6.

The Atlanta Braves (59-44), reeled in the Miami Marlins (47-56), 7-1.

The San Francisco Giants (56-47) bopped the New York Mets (50-54), 4-1

The Arizona Diamondbacks (53-51) up ended the Los Angeles Dodgers (56-49), 8-2

The Baltimore Orioles (55-49) flew past the New York Yankees (60-43), 11-5.

The Los Angeles Angels (57-47) lassoed the Texas Rangers (59-43), 6-2.

The Kansas City Royals (42-60) beat the Cleveland Indians (50-53), 8-3.

The Chicago White Sox (56-47) topped the Minnesota Twins (44-59), 4-3.

The Boston Red Sox (53-51) tamed the Detroit Tigers (54-50), 4-1. Game was called in the 6th inning because of rain.

The Tampa Bay Rays (54-50) shut out the Oakland Athletics (56-47), 8-0.

The Seattle Mariners (49-57) crushed the Toronto Blue Jays (51-52), 7-2.

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Pirates' Burnett Out 2-3 Months

J. Meric/Getty Images(BRADENTON, Fla.) -- Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher A.J. Burnett will miss two to three months after undergoing facial surgery after he fouled a ball off his face on Wednesday during a bunting drill.

Burnett had successful surgery on Friday in Pittsburgh for a broken orbital bone on his right eye.

The Pirates had hoped for Burnett to be their top guy in the young pitching rotation and will now have to look elsewhere.

"The initial step will be to heal from the surgery," general manager Neal Huntington said. "Secondly, we will recondition his arm and body to where he was prior to the injury. Lastly, we will put A.J. through the same progression as he would have gone through here in spring training."

Burnett came over from the Yankees on Feb. 19 after a trade.  He had hoped for a fresh start but will now have to watch from the dugout.

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Burnett Will Undergo Surgery

J. Meric/Getty Images(NEW YORK) --It's not exactly the start that Pirates fans wanted to Spring Training with their newly acquired pitcher.  A.J. Burnett will undergo surgery on Friday to repair a fractured right orbital bone.

Burnett, who came over from the New York Yankees in a three-player trade last month, injured himself after a bunt attempt hit him in the face.

According to an account of the incident in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Burnett “redirected the pitch, which came at medium speed from a pitching machine, toward his right cheek and eye socket and under the brim of his helmet. The impact made an audible sound as the ball struck his face and drew blood. A trainer stemmed the bleeding with a towel and Burnett left the field.”

The Pirates who are coming off a 72-90 season were hoping Burnett would be able to become the No. 1 starter this year on a young pitching staff.

There is no timetable set for Burnett's return.

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Burnett Deal In Place, Pending Approval from MLB

BananaStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- The Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees have completed a trade that would send Yankees pitcher A.J. Burnett to Pittsburgh, sources said on Saturday.

Pittsburgh will send prospects Diego Moreno and Exicardo Cayones to New York in return, sources said.

Moreno, 25, is a right-handed pitcher that has split the past two seasons between the Class A and Double-A minor league teams.  Cayones, is an outfielder who spent 2011 in Class A.

The deal is pending approval from the baseball commissioner's office, which is needed because of the money involved. The Pirates will pay $13 million of the $31.1 million remaining on Burnett's contract, sources said (Burnett is on a year-round contract and already has been paid $1.9 million in 2012).

Burnett is 121-111 with a 4.10 ERA in 13 seasons and was also a part of the Yankees pitching staff in 2009 when they won the World Series.

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