The San Francisco Giants have made an offer to free agent starting pitcher Corbin Burnes, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
San Francisco and Burnes have been linked in reports for months as a good match. The Giants are in need of a front-line starter to replace Blake Snell, and Burnes is a California native who pitched collegiately in the Bay Area.
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So, what's the hold-up?
Feinsand citied anonymous sources saying Burnes "is seeking a deal worth at least $245 million, which would match the seven-year, $245 million deal Stephen Strasburg signed in December 2019 as the third-highest guaranteed contract in history for a starting pitcher."
Other than a predilection for pitching with their right hands, Burnes and Strasburg have an obvious commonality: an agent, Scott Boras.
Boras has already negotiated the largest contract ever for a position player, Juan Soto, who signed a 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets earlier this month. He's also negotiated two of the three largest contracts ever for a starting pitcher: Gerrit Cole ($324 million with the New York Yankees in Dec. 2019) and Strasburg (nine days earlier with the Washington Nationals).
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Ostensibly the Giants' offer to Burnes didn't meet the magic number — $245 million or more — needed to seal the deal.
Burnes, 30, went 15-9 with a 2.92 ERA in 32 starts last season with the Baltimore Orioles. The 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner with the Milwaukee Brewers, Burnes declined a qualifying offer in November, meaning any team that signs him (other than Baltimore) will have to sacrifice a draft pick to secure his talents.
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If Strasburg's contract is at all the same reference point for teams as it is for Burnes' agent, it is likely to serve as a cautionary tale.
Injuries limited Strasburg to eight starts after the contract was signed. By the time he voluntarily retired in April, Strasburg hadn't pitched in nearly two years. Strasburg was 31 at the time, while Burnes is a year younger.
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It's unclear how long Strasburg has been sitting on the Giants' offer, but Feinsand reports that "the Giants may be getting impatient, prompting them to consider other ways to improve the club via free agency."
The Giants held an unconfirmed meeting with Roki Sasaki, who would potentially fill the hole at the top of their rotation. Although he is limited to a minor league contract and a signing bonus within a team's amateur bonus pool money in his first season since deciding to leave Japan, Sasaki is considered ready to step into a major league rotation.
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Last season, Sasaki went 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA in 18 starts for the Chiba Lotte Marines, with 129 strikeouts in 111 innings. He wowed fans and industry observers at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, when his fastball sat 100 mph and Japan stunned the United States to win the championship.
Sasaki has reportedly met with five other teams as well, but will not finalize his contract before Jan. 15, when the 2025 international amateur signing period begins.
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Could the Giants be waiting to make a decision about Burnes until they've heard from Sasaki? If so, Burnes might not have to wait much longer to know whether the Giants are willing to up their offer.
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