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Corbin Burnes’ six-year, $210MM contract with the Diamondbacks stands out as perhaps the most surprising move of the 2024-25 offseason, as Arizona wasn’t viewed as a prime contender to either spend that much money, or even make a move for a frontline pitcher given the depth already present in the Snakes’ rotation.
As revealed today during Burnes’ introductory press conference, the concept of Burnes joining the D’Backs also seemed unlikely to all parties involved at the start of the offseason. Past reports suggested that it was Burnes and his agent Scott Boras who reached out to the D’Backs to ignite talks in late December and a deal was reached in fairly short order, and this version of events was largely supported in comments to media (including the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro, Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci, and MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert) today.
Burnes and his family live in Scottsdale, and there was obvious appeal in playing so close to home, especially after Burnes’ wife Brooke gave birth to twin girls this past June. While Burnes had interest in playing for the Diamondbacks, there wasn’t much or any contact between the two sides until Boras contacted owner Ken Kendrick in December about the possibility of a signing. Boras and Kendrick seemingly handled this initial set of negotiations directly, as D’Backs GM Mike Hazen and assistant GM Amiel Sawdaye were both out of country on family vacations.
The result was the priciest contract in Diamondbacks franchise history, and a payroll that now sits at roughly $193.6MM, as per RosterResource’s estimates. Kendrick admitted that the D’Backs were “stretching the budget” to make the Burnes deal work, but he pointed to such new revenue streams as a sponsored jersey patch, a ballpark sportsbook, and more concerts at Chase Field, plus the more traditional extra funds generated by increased attendance.
“All of those things drive the train, and then what do we do? Every dollar that comes in we’re going to reinvest it in ballplayers and not in the ownership, and we will always do that,” Kendrick said.
Burnes wasn’t entirely off the Diamondbacks’ radar at the start of the offseason, as Sawdaye said in an appearance on the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast today that the front office had “heard through intermediaries, and other players” that Burnes had interest in playing close to home. Internally, Sawdaye said “we had some discussion and it seemed financially it wasn’t going to be able to work or make sense.”
However, with Kendrick and CEO Derrick Hall pushing things and Burnes remaining unsigned, Sawdaye said the front office essentially asked ” ’well, what’s the price going to be?’ We’d be doing ourselves a disservice to a player who wants to come here, and obviously we should find out what that’s going to cost.”
As hefty as Burnes’ contract is, Boras said there was “no question” the right-hander turned down larger offers from other teams. Past reports indicated that the Blue Jays and possibly the Orioles were willing to top Arizona’s offer, though Burnes said today that he’d only received concrete offers from the Jays and Giants, plus “some verbal stuff with Baltimore and Boston, but nothing I had seen in writing.”
Verducci’s piece includes a longer breakdown of how Burnes’ free agent trip developed, with Toronto, Boston, and the Yankees all expressing interest right at the start of free agency. Various discussions took place with all parties over the next several weeks, with Corbin and Brooke Burnes prioritizing how signing with each prospective suitor would impact their young family’s day-to-day routine. The Yankees and Red Sox seemed to fall back in the chase after the teams had respectively landed Max Fried and Garrett Crochet to address their pitching needs, which helped clear the way for the D’Backs to emerge with a late bid.
