Corbin Burnes Joins Diamondbacks on Record-Breaking $210M Deal
The former Cy Young Award winner and Arizona resident, Corbin Burnes, received his payday for the second offseason in a row. Early Saturday morning, Jon Heyman of MLB Network first reported that the Arizona Diamondbacks had agreed to terms with the ace on a six-year, $210 million contract, which includes a $10 million signing bonus, an opt-out after two years, and a full no-trade clause. The deal is the largest in Diamondbacks franchise history, surpassing the six-year, $206.5 million contract signed by Zack Greinke back in 2015.
Burnes now joins a Diamondbacks team looking to bolster what could be a championship-level roster after narrowly missing the postseason on the final day of the regular season this year. The team finished with a record of 89–73 and scored more runs than any other team in baseball (845), surpassing the super-team Los Angeles Dodgers (815). Haunted by injuries in the rotation, including Eduardo Rodriguez, Merrill Kelly, and Ryan Nelson, the Diamondbacks fell short compared to the 2023 season, when they made a Cinderella run to the Fall Classic before losing to the Texas Rangers in five games.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today further noted that Burnes was offered up to $40 million more by the San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue Jays, and Baltimore Orioles—teams that were narrow favorites to land the superstar earlier in free agency. However, the four-time All-Star chose location over money.
Burnes ultimately signed with a sleeper team in free agency, as the Diamondbacks weren’t widely mentioned as suitors for the free-agent right-hander until late into Friday night. He now joins the likes of Max Fried and Blake Snell as the biggest available starters this offseason to sign monster deals with new teams.
Before this offseason, Burnes spent his 2024 campaign on the East Coast in Baltimore after being acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers near the start of spring training this past February. At that time, the Orioles were desperate for pitching support to complement their core of young superstar position players. Burnes delivered more than his share of the bargain, posting a 2.92 ERA over 194.1 innings with 181 strikeouts in 32 starts.
Last season was the ace’s fourth consecutive season as an All-Star, starting for the American League in the MLB All-Star Game. Burnes has also finished in the top 10 in Cy Young voting for five consecutive seasons, winning the award for the Brewers in 2021.
There is potential for concern for the Diamondbacks when it comes to signing the 30-year-old righty, apart from the ever-growing risk of elbow injuries plaguing pitchers across the league. Burnes’ strikeout rate has consistently declined over the past four seasons.
In 2020, Burnes struck out 13.3 batters per nine innings during the shortened 60-game season when he discovered his outstanding cutter after a horrid 2019 campaign where he held an 8.82 ERA. Since 2020, his strikeout rate has dropped year by year—from 12.6 to 10.8 to 9.3 to 8.4.
Despite this, his advanced metrics still rank him among the top talents in the game. His career began at such a high point that even his worst strikeout rates are still exceptional. Burnes should have multiple prime years left, and the Diamondbacks landed the most coveted starter on the market this winter—someone they can count on to take the ball in Game 1 of a postseason series.
Starting pitching didn’t seem to be a pressing need for the Diamondbacks, who already have a rotation featuring Zack Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez, Jordan Montgomery, and others. Given this surplus, the signing of Burnes could allow the team to move one of their existing starters, which may also help manage their franchise-record-high payroll of $170 million.
Jordan Montgomery, in particular, has been underperforming since joining the team and is owed $22.5 million in 2025. He could be an intriguing piece for a salary dump late in the offseason for the Diamondbacks.
