Diamondbacks Expected to Shift to Offensive Upgrades After Signing Corbin Burnes
At long last, Corbin Burnes has found a new home – in the desert with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The 30-year-old right-hander has agreed to a six-year, $210-million contract with the D-backs, in a deal that includes an opt-out after the first two seasons.
In his only season at Camden Yards, Burnes pitched to a 2.92 ERA in 32 starts with the O’s in ‘24, posting a 3.55 FIP and 181 strikeouts across 194.1 innings. He was worth 3.7 fWAR, the third-highest rating of his seven-year big-league career.
Six of those first seven years were spent with the Brewers, where he worked out of the bullpen before transitioning to the rotation full-time in ‘21. Since then, only three qualified pitchers have logged more innings than Burnes (757) – Zack Wheeler (758.1), Logan Webb (760.1) and Aaron Nola (778.2).
After falling to the Texas Rangers in the 2023 World Series, the Diamondbacks missed the playoffs last season despite finishing with an identical record (89-73) to the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves – both of whom claimed the final two NL wild-card seeds due to tiebreaker scenarios.
Arizona will attempt to overcome that disappointing fate in ‘25 after adding Burnes, one of the sport’s most dominating starters, to a rotation that already includes Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez and Brandon Pfaadt.
The D-backs’ staff also features left-hander Jordan Montgomery, who’s coming off a miserable showing and has one year remaining on his current deal – as do Gallen and Kelly. He could still be traded before next season or return to the bullpen for a second straight campaign.
There’s also a potential scenario where Montgomery serves as a starter in 2025, either as an injury replacement or as part of a six-man rotation.
On the position-player side, Arizona’s front office has also made a few changes, particularly at first base. With Christian Walker leaving in free agency for the Houston Astros, management pivoted to the trade market, acquiring Josh Naylor via trade from the Cleveland Guardians.
But they may still need to add another bat to the lineup this winter, considering Joc Pederson and Randal Grichuk – last season’s platoon combo at DH – have departed as free agents. Internal options include the likes of Pavin Smith and Blaze Alexander.
General manager Mike Hazen has previously stated the club would like to continue adding to its lineup, saying, “I still think we have some eye on the offence for sure.” However, that may not come in the form of a DH type like it did last winter.
Chances are the Diamondbacks may want to provide additional DH days for second baseman Ketel Marte moving forward to maintain the effectiveness of his offensive profile. Another advantage is it’d open up playing time for top prospect Jordan Lawlar.
So, rather than pursue someone like Anthony Santander or Pete Alonso, arguably the best two hitters still available in free agency, targeting infielder Jorge Polanco may be more suitable.
The 31-year-old switch-hitting played through a nagging knee injury last season that significantly hindered his offensive results. But he’s supposedly in better shape this winter and is only two seasons removed from recording a 117 wRC+ (100 league average) as a bat-first versatile infielder with the Minnesota Twins.
Alternatively, Hazen could also turn to the trade market for an offensive upgrade, with notable players such as Luis Robert Jr., Jake Cronenworth, Luis Arraez, LaMonte Wade Jr. and Luis Rengifo likely available.
As currently constructed, though, the Diamondbacks figure to be a legitimate threat in the ultra-competitive NL West Division next season, battling alongside the World Series-reigning Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Giants.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.