Corbin Burnes, the 30-year-old four-time All Star and 2021 National League Cy Young winner who topped this offseason’s free agent pitching class, stunned the baseball world Friday night by reportedly agreeing to sign with the Arizona Diamondbacks â spurning more high profile suitors including the Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants and even by some accounts the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
The news of Burnes’ long-awaited decision was first broken by veteran MLB insider and New York Post columnist Jon Heyman, on his X (formerly Twitter) account at 1:21 am Eastern Time.
Perhaps even more surprising than his chosen destination was the total value of the contract Burnes agreed to sign, according to media reports. The righthander’s deal with the Diamondback will pay him $210 million over six years, millions less than most projections, some of which had Burnes commanding as much as $300 million.
The deal, however, reportedly contains an opt-out clause allowing Burnes to leave the Diamondbacks and test the free agent market again after the 2026 season.
Burnes Did Not Get Strasburg-Sized Contract
Recent reports had said that Burnes wanted a contract exceeding $245 million, to at least match the sum the since-retired Stephen Strasburg received from the Washington Nationals in 2019.
The Arizona organization had yet to confirm the Burnes signing as of early Saturday morning.
It should be noted, however, that though the total value of Burnes reported contract will be lower than most baseball prognosticators expected, the average annual value (AAV) of the deal is $35 million, matching what Strasburg was to receive over seven years. That AAV equals the sixth-largest ever for a starting pitcher, according to MLB.com reporter Mark Feinsand. Only Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Zack Wheeler, Jacob deGrom and Gerrit Cole have received a larger annual salary.
But why did Burnes shun offers from big market teams to pitch for a team that, though it made a World Series appearance in 2023 has won more than 85 games only four times since 2002, and not since 2017?
According to ESPN baseball reporter Alden González, the reason has less to do with the size of his contract, and more to do with the size of Burnes’ family, which recently increased by two.
Birth of Twins Kept Burnes in Arizona
“Corbin Burnes and his wife just had twins and wanted to stay home in Arizona, prompting a deal with the D-backs,” González wrote on his X account just seven minutes after Heyman’s initial report. “Itâs shocking, but also pretty awesome. The D-backs have been among the most affected by RSN uncertainty, and yet they keep going for it.”
Burnes and his wife Brooke announced the birth of their twin girls on Burnes’ Instagram account on June 28. Less than three weeks later, Burnes started the All Star game for the American League. The family resides in Scottsdale, Arizona, just a 25-minute drive from Chase Field in Phoenix where the Diamondbacks play their home games. Burnes is a native of Bakersfield, California, just one hour and 10 minutes by air from Phoenix.
“RSN uncertainty” refers to the fact that the regional sports network (RSN) that carried the Diamondbacks games, Bally Sports, went bankrupt in 2023 and pulled out of broadcasting the Diamondbacks. Major League Baseball itself then took over the team’s telecasts, as it had also done for the San Diego Padres who faced the same situation.
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