The Corbin Burnes sweepstakes ended Friday with the former Cy Young Award winner going to the National League West — but not the San Francisco Giants.
The Giants, who were rumored to be the favorites to sign the California native, instead will face Burnes as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks over the next six years.
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According to multiple reports, Burnes gets $210 million and an opt-out after the second year of the contract with the D-Backs, who reached the World Series in 2023 but missed the postseason altogether in 2024.
It's a stunning conclusion to the free agency of perhaps the most talented free agent pitcher still left on the market. Burnes joins a surprisingly stout rotation in Phoenix along with Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez, Brandon Pfaadt and Ryne Nelson.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post was the first to report Burnes had agreed to terms with Arizona.
So Burnes doesn’t match Stephen Strasburg’s $245 million deal, but his $35 million AAV is the same. It’s tied for the sixth-largest AAV ever for a starting pitcher (behind Scherzer, Verlander, Wheeler, deGrom and Cole).
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) December 28, 2024According to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, Burnes' $35 million average annual value is the sixth-largest ever for a starting pitcher. Feinsand reported Thursday that Burnes was seeking a $245 million contract that would match or exceed Stephen Strasburg's as the third-highest total value ever for a pitcher.
Feinsand also reported the Giants had a standing offer to Burnes, who pitched collegiately in the San Francisco Bay Area and grew up in Bakersfield.
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But Burnes continued to hold out hope for a more favorable contract. Now, he'll go to a Diamondbacks team that is looking to regain its place in a hypercompetitive NL West. The Los Angeles Dodgers are the defending World Series champions, while the San Diego Padres finished second in the division in 2024.
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 the Diamondbacks will have to sacrifice a 2025 draft pick once Burnes' contract is official.
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Over seven major league seasons with the Orioles and Milwuakee Brewers (2018-24), Burnes is 60-36 with a 3.19 ERA in 199 games (138 starts). He's a four-time All-Star and has collected Cy Young votes in each of the last five seasons.
Only one starting pitcher still on the free agent market, right-hander Nick Pivetta, received and rejected a qualifying offer from his last team. He and right-hander Jack Flaherty, who went 13-7 with a 3.17 ERA in 28 starts for the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers in 2024, are perhaps the best pitchers remaining on the major league free agent market.
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The Giants are also rumored to have met with the representatives for Roki Sasaki. The 23-year-old from Japan is considered an international amateur free agent by MLB, but is expected to join a major league rotation in 2025 after going 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA in 18 starts for the NPB's Chiba Lotte Marines in 2024, with 129 strikeouts in 111 innings.
Sasaki will not sign before Jan. 15, when the 2025 international signing period begins. The Giants face perhaps the most pressure to react to Burnes' new contract — not only because he rejected their offer, but because they'll be seeing him often over at least the next two years.
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