Video by Eliav Gabay
Back on December 27 in the middle of the night, the Arizona Diamondbacks pulled off the stunner of the offseason, inking Corbin Burnes to a 6 year, $210 million contract.
On Monday, the right handed 30-year-old ace was introduced alongside General Manager Mike Hazen, Managing partner Ken Kendrick, and agent Scott Boras.
“We [his family] always knew that if Arizona called we had to take the call,” Burnes said. “In 2023 I saw how good this team was on their way to the World Series and am glad to now be a part of it.”
Three weeks after the signing, there’s been tons of speculation on what Arizona will do next. The snakes are obviously going all in, but will moving one or two of the seven current big league starting pitchers be on the horizon? Zac Gallen appears safe, same with Brandon Pfaadt, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Merrill Kelly.
“We have a great staff,” Hazen said. “I’m not going to touch much on possible moves, but I’m glad we now have Corbin at the front leading the way.”
“We are stretching the budget,” Kendrick said. “You invest money when there is an opportunity to get a return on your investment… I’m getting older I want to see more success before I ride off into the sunset.”
Burnes is the perfect on paper fit for Arizona. The 2021 Cy Y Young winner has one of the best pitch arsenal’s in the game. He has a career ERA of 3.19, but he’s finished under a 3.0 ERA in four of the last five seasons.
MLB Network recently named Burnes the No. 6 pitcher in baseball ahead of the 2025 season.
It isn’t taking long for the Burnes family to settle into the valley, because their primary residence was already here. He and his wife just had twins in June of 2024, and are glad to be keeping their Arizona residence year-round moving forward.
Burnes will wear the number 39.
Pitchers and catcher report to Spring Training one month from now. The 40 man roster looks set for Arizona, but don’t be surprised to see a few moves made in the coming weeks…
