The Boston Red Sox have apparently thrown their hats into the ring in what could become a three-way battle between AL East rivals to land free-agent right hander A.J. Burnett.

The New York Yankees are known to covet Burnett, along with lefty CC Sabathia and sinkerball specialist Derek Lowe, and the Toronto Blue Jays would like to keep the 6-5, 205-pound Burnett; in fact, they've reportedly offered him $52 million over four years to stay north of the border. The Yankees, who are mostly focused on Sabathia at the moment, say they are in preliminary talks with Burnett's agent, Darek Braunecker.

Here's what Kat O'Brien of Newsday reports about the Sox' involvement:

A source close to Burnett said that a half-dozen teams are in contention for his services: the Yankees, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Braves, Phillies and Orioles. The Red Sox, the source said, have significantly increased their involvement in the pitcher in the past 36 hours and are now "fully engaged."

Braunecker told Newsday that he wants a five-year deal for Burnett, who will be 32 at the start of next season (a very fine age indeed). But he indicated that it won't be the decisive factor, as a team's playoff chances, geographic location and, of course, the total value of the deal will all be important factors.

Burnett was 18-10 last season for the Blue Jays -- a career high in wins -- with a 4.07 E.R.A. He is 87-76 with a 3.81 E.R.A. over 10 seasons with Toronto and Florida. Durability has been a problem for the hard-throwing Burnett during his career -- only twice (2005 and 2008, each of which was the season before he became a free agent) has he made more than 30 starts in a season.