Roughly two days after CC Sabathia agreed to terms with the Yankees on a monstrous contract, A.J. Burnett swooped in and received a huge payday from the recession-proof franchise. Burnett's deal isn't nearly as large as Sabathia's -- $161 million over seven years, in the unlikely event that you forgot -- but the $82.5 million he'll earn over five seasons is still likely more than anyone else would have spent this winter. The Braves wanted to add Burnett to the Eastern division of the National League, but the Yankees made a move on Thursday afternoon to keep the right-hander in the American League. The now-former Blue Jay opted out of the five-year, $55 million pact he signed with Toronto three Decembers ago this fall, and is now reaping the benefits. After one of the best seasons of his career, Burnett's new deal is worth $5 million more, on average, annually. Burnett was 18-10 with a 4.07 ERA and 231 strikeouts in 221 1/3 innings this season. He set career-highs in starts (34), innings pitched, strikeouts and wins. Only Mike Mussina, in his storybook swansong, had better numbers for the Yankees in 2008. Burnett also pitched twenty more innings than Andy Pettitte, who led New York with 204 innings. Pettitte was also the Yankees' leader in strikeouts, with a mere 158. With it looking more and more likely that the aging lefty will either retire or pitch elsewhere in 2009, Burnett will battle with Sabathia to lead New York in K's next year. The warning label on Sabathia alerted buyers of the 253 innings he tossed this past season, and the 1,659 1/3 he has thrown in eight seasons. The questions surrounding Burnett are on the opposite end of the spectrum. A.J. has thrown 1,376 1/3 innings, roughly three hundred fewer than CC, but has been in the major leagues for an additional two years. While both pitchers far surpassed the 200-inning mark in 2008, Burnett has only been on the mound for more than 175 innings three times. Sabathia has logged more than 180 innings in each of his eight campaigns. It's hard not to consider these two as a package deal that will arrive in New York mere days before Christmas with everything but a red ribbon tied around their throwing arms. However, despite a few similarities -- their propensity for strikeouts and experience in both leagues -- they are rather different. Burnett isn't a 6-foot-7 Californian that weighs 290 pounds, while Sabathia is far from a 6-foot-5 Little Rocker that tips the scale at a trim 230 pounds. CC has also shown the ability to be a leader, while A.J. excels as the second fiddle. With Burnett in pinstripes alongside Sabathia and the remaining Yankee starters, New York now has the front end of a rotation (Sabathia-Burnett-Wang) that can compare with the rival Red Sox (Matsuzaka-Beckett-Lester). General manager Brian Cashman may have given Burnett a tad more than many feel his soon-to-be 32-year-old arm is worth, but the righty does have a strong history against Boston. Jason Bay (.308, 13 at-bats) was the only Red Sox hitter with an average above .300 against Burnett this season, while David Ortiz (.227, 22 at-bats), Kevin Youkilis (.200, 20 at-bats) and AL MVP Dustin Pedroia (.222, 18 at-bats) all struggled. If Burnett pitches for the Yankees as he did for the Blue Jays in 2008, chances are his numbers will look a little better. New York averaged 4.87 runs per game, while Toronto put up 4.40 during the most recent 162-game campaign. His 4.07 ERA wasn't tremendous, but it was far from awful as well. With that said, he would have likely far surpassed the 20-win mark had the Blue Jays been a little more consistent offensively during his starts. Burnett allowed five or fewer runs in 28 of his 34 starts. They may not have done so with regularity in 2008, but the Yankees should be able to give him enough support to win 20 games. As good as he might look on the mound for the Yankees, they are giving him $82.5 million over five years. At the conclusion of his contract, he'll be almost 37-years-old. Even as a youngster, he wasn't the healthiest of men, so what leads anyone to believe that he'll be an iron man in the Bronx for the next five seasons? Thank goodness the Steinbrenner's aren't in the financial business, otherwise the Yankees wouldn't have been able to spend more than $240 million on two arms in a matter of 48 hours. Grade for Yankees: B+ In order to properly grade this deal, Burnett's agreement needs to be isolated from Sabathia's. Luckily for the Yanks, money often isn't an object. It's hard to penalize a team for "overpaying" when the dollar amount simply doesn't matter. Either way, it appears as though it's "World Series or Bust" for the Yankees, now more than ever. Grade for Burnett: A