The Arizona Diamondbacks surprisingly won the bidding for free agent Corbin Burnes at $35 million a year over six years, a franchise record and one more sign of a wildly robust market for starting pitchers. But they clinched the deal by offering Burnes something no other team could: the chance to pitch at home.
Burnes and his wife, Brooke, live in Scottsdale, Ariz., with their three children, all under the age of three: son Carter and twin girls Charlotte and Harper. He can commute from home to spring training and to home games—no need to move the family. It’s a great deal for Burnes, especially because the AAV and the opt-out after two years means there is no hometown discount here.
A West Coast team always loomed as the favored destination for Burnes. The Dodgers came off the board quickly when they signed Blake Snell. The Padres have payroll restraints. The Mariners did not need a starter. The Giants were a possibility, but they could not compete with the home court advantage of Arizona.
The D-Backs can run out a deep rotation of Burnes, Zac Gallen, Eduardo Rodríguez, Merrill Kelly, Brandon Pfaadt, Ryne Nelson and Jordan Montgomery. They are in a better position to trade from that depth, but Gallen is a free agent after next season due for Burnes-like money.
Over the past two seasons, the NL West has loaded up on premier starting pitchers, adding Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dylan Cease, Snell (twice, who also had a West Coast preference), Rodríguez, Montgomery and Burnes. Arizona won 89 games last year even with a pitching staff that ranked fourth worst in MLB. The addition of Burnes keeps the D-Backs in contention in a deep division.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Diamondbacks Keep Pace in Loaded NL West With Corbin Burnes Signing.