Burrell to Rays?

If the Phillies and Rays are going to have a rematch of this years Fall Classic, it looks like the Phillies will be facing an old friend- Pat Burrell.

FoxSports is reporting that Pat Burrell is about to sign a 2 year, 16 million doller deal with the Tampa Bay Rays. Reports are that he would be the DH for them, and would be placed in the line up to protect Evan Longoria.

I was surprised to see that the deal is only worth 8 million dollers a year, which is 6 million less then he made last season. I thought the whole reason the Phillies signed Raul Ibanez was to save money on Burrell? They gave Ibanez a 3 year deal worth 30 million dollers, 12 million more then Burrells deal, and 2 million more per year. Lets compare the players:

Burrell: 32 years old, bats: right, 33 homers, .250, 86 RBI's, .367 OBP, .507 slugging, vs left: .279, vs right: .238

Ibanez: 36 years old, bats: left, 23 homers, .293 BA, 110 RBI's, .358 OBP, .479 slugging, vs left: .305, vs right: .228

When Ibanez's deal with the Phillies runs up, he will be almost 40 years old. Burrell will be 35. On that basis alone, I would have rather seen the Phillies give Burrell the 2 year deal for 16 million. You could say he woulnd't have signed that in Philly, but he did in Tampa, and he said he wanted to return to Philly, so I think he would have.

Burrell finished with 10 more home runs then Ibanez, and also (and this is key) bats right handed. With Chase Utley and Ryan Howard both batting lefty, Burrell was there to switch it up. Now, the Phillies will have 3 lefties in a row, with Ibanez batting lefty as well. Burrell also had a higher OBP and Slugging average. The one thing that Ibanez does bring the Phillies is some one in the lineup who is not just a power hitter, but can hit it around the field.

But still, if you look at the 2 players, I would rather have Burrell for 2 yr/16 mil then Ibanez for 3 yr/ 30 mil. Burrell has been in Philly his whole career, and I think bringing him back would have been good for the club house, and helped carry this years momentum into next year. I know he wasnt the main reason, or the Phillies biggest club house presence, but there was no need to mix up the pot.

In the end, I don't think the Phillies will not repeat as champions becasue of this move. You could argue that Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth were more important then Burrell, making him the 6th best player in the line up. But at Ibanez age, there is a risk he could lose it. For all of his faults, you knew aht you had with Burrell.

And what you had helped the Phillies win the World Series.