Dec. 13 (Bloomberg) -- The New York Yankees agreed to sign free-agent pitcher A.J. Burnett to a five-year, $82.5 million deal, a person familiar with the contract said, further bolstering their starting rotation after adding CC Sabathia this week.

Burnett, 31, went 18-10 with a 4.07 earned run average for Toronto last season. He joined the Blue Jays before the 2006 season after seven years with the Florida Marlins. The person requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the agreement.

The Yankees, who ended a 13-year run of postseason appearances last season, entered the offseason with only Chien- Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlain -- who both missed time with injuries in 2008 -- as definite starters. The signing brings the total the Yankees have committed to pitching this week to $243.5 million after agreeing to a $161 million deal with Sabathia. The team is moving into their new $1.3 billion ballpark in April.

“The Yankees do have a lot of things in terms of being the dominant sports market and a brand-new stadium,” Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said in an interview yesterday. “It gives them an advantage over other teams. Obviously they’ve used that to focus on their key area -- pitching.”

Burnett opted out of his five-year, $55 million contract with the Blue Jays to enter the free-agent market, where he became the subject of a bidding war between the Yankees and Atlanta Braves. He made $13.2 million last season; he will average $16.5 million a year under the new contract.

Most Innings

Last season, Burnett pitched a career-high 221 1/3 innings, striking out 231. He was 5-1 with a 2.05 earned run average against the Yankees and Boston Red Sox.

Burnett, who pitched behind 2003 Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay in Toronto, will be in a similar situation with the Yankees, where he’ll follow Sabathia, who won the honor in 2007.

Sabathia had a 17-10 record with a 2.70 ERA last year with the Cleveland Indians and Brewers. In 17 starts with Milwaukee, he threw seven complete games and three shutouts, helping the Brewers reach the postseason for the first time since 1982. He finished fifth in the NL Cy Young voting and sixth on the Most Valuable Player ballot.

Sabathia is 117-73 with a 3.66 ERA over his eight-year career. In 2007, he went 19-7 with a 3.21 ERA and pitching four complete games as Cleveland captured the American League Central Division title.

The Yankees’ starting rotation was depleted after the retirement of Mike Mussina, a 20-game winner last season, and the free agency of Andy Pettitte, who made $16 million last season while compiling a 14-14 record. The Yankees offered him a $10 million contract, according to the New York Times.

Flush With Cash

Even with the recession, the Yankees may be flush with cash. The new ballpark might generate an extra $200 million in revenue annually, according to Vince Gennaro, author of “Diamond Dollars: The Economics of Winning in Baseball.” The ballclub also has almost $80 million coming off its league-leading payroll of $209 million from expiring contracts for players including Pettitte, Jason Giambi and Bobby Abreu.

Meanwhile, teams such as the Blue Jays and Arizona Diamondbacks have fired front-office workers. Others, including the Red Sox, have frozen ticket prices.

“If I could offer a bit of advice to the 29 other teams in baseball: Let the Yankees get what they want to get and sit on the sidelines,” Marc Ganis of Sportscorp Ltd., a Chicago-based sports advisory firm that has done work for the team, said before the signings. “If you try to compete while the Yankees are still out there, you will overpay.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Curtis Eichelberger in Washington at ceichelberge@bloomberg.net and

Last Updated: December 13, 2008 10:52 EST