The Arizona Diamondbacks and right hander Corbin Burnes have come to terms on a 6 year, $210M contract in a late night shocker.
Burnes, who was widely viewed as the premier arm available on the free agent market, had been heavily linked to the Giants, Blue Jays, and Red Sox over the last several weeks. However, it would be the D-backs who would ultimately put pen to paper with the righty, bolstering an already strong starting rotation.
Arizona already features Zac Gallen, Brandon Pfaadt, Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Jordan Montgomery, which is why many assumed they wouldn’t be in on Burnes this offseason. The deal, which is still pending a physical, will help the club navigate the always competitive NL West division, while also dealing a major blow to the Giants offseason plans as well.
According to reports, the contract will feature an opt out clause after the 2nd season, allowing Burnes to potentially sign with another team ahead of the 2027 MLB campaign. His $35M AAV makes him only the 3rd pitcher in Major League history to receive at least $35M per season on a deal 6 years in length or longer. Only Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg had accomplished the feat prior to the 30 year old.
After being acquired by the Orioles last offseason, Burnes went 15-9 for the birds, with a 2.92 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and 181 Ks through 194.1IP. Since 2020, he’s logged the 3rd most innings pitched (816.2IP), second in era amongst pitchers with at least 500 innings (2.88), and 2nd in strikeouts (946).
Those front of the rotation type numbers will be counted on to help keep Arizona competitive in the NL West divisional race as every National League team tries to keep up with the deep pocketed Dodgers who seem to add another impact bat every other week.
The question now becomes whether or not Arizona opts to keep all their arms heading into spring training, or whether the signing allows them to trade a starter for a position of need. The D-backs entered 2024 with a club record $170M payroll, and appear willing to continue to spend heading into 2025.
While Madison Bumgarner’s deal officially comes off the books this offseason, Arizona will also receive financial flexibility in the form of Christian Walker, Joc Pederson, and Randal Grichuk becoming free agents as well.
The front office attempted to replace some of their lost offence at 1st base by acquiring Josh Naylor from the Guardians in a deal last week. However, flipping a starter for another impact bat or back-end reliever is almost certainly something the franchise will be looking at over the coming weeks.
“I still think we have some eye on the offense for sure,” GM Mike Hazen said prior to the Burners signing. “We’re gonna still stay engaged in everywhere we were before. Bullpen is something that we’ve definitely still been involved with. So we’ll see what happens there, but there seems to be a decent amount of activity going on right now.”
Some internal solutions exist in the form of prospects Jordan Lawlar or Pavin Smith. But for now, D-backs fans will be happy to have an abundance of riches on the starting pitching front, and can now play from a position of strength should they choose to address other areas of need this spring.
Photo: MSgt. Raheem Moore. This image or file is a work of a U.S. Air Force Airman or employee, taken or made as part of that person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image or file is in the public domain in the United States.