Toronto Blue Jays Outbid Arizona Diamondbacks For Corbin Burnes, Per Report

Corbin Burnes decided to take a less lucrative offer from the Arizona Diamondbacks since joining the Toronto Blue Jays or San Francisco Giants would have cost him more in taxes.

Aug 10, 2024; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Corbin Burnes (39) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. / Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

The Arizona Diamondbacks made a major splash by signing Corbin Burnes late Friday night, dousing the Toronto Blue Jays' hopes of landing a new ace in the process.

But it wasn't as if the Blue Jays didn't make a solid effort.

According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, both the Blue Jays and the San Francisco Giants offered more than the six years, $210 million Burnes wound up getting from the Diamondbacks. However, Nightengale noted that the taxes Burnes would have to pay in Canada and California – compared to the ones he will have to pay in Arizona – played into his eventual decision.

Corbin Burnes was offered more by the Giants and Blue Jays but big tax difference in Arizona

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 28, 2024

Burnes was the last of the top starting pitchers on the open market, with Max Fried heading to the New York Yankees and Blake Snell joining the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Blue Jays were connected to them all, and it seemed for a time like they could snag Burnes after losing out on Fried, Juan Soto and Teoscar Hernández.

Their open checkbook wasn't enough, though, and Toronto is now heading into 2025 with a starting rotation of Kevin Gausman, José Berríos, Chris Bassitt, Bowden Francis and Yariel Rodríguez.

Having Burnes at the top of that five-man group would have given the Blue Jays one of the top rotations in the American League, and potentially set them up for a return to the postseason.

Burnes went 15-9 with a 2.92 ERA, 1.096 WHIP, 8.4 strikeouts per nine innings and a 3.4 WAR across 32 starts with the Baltimore Orioles in 2024. Between 2020 and 2023, as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers, Burnes went 37-22 with a 2.86 ERA, 0.996 WHIP, 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings and a 15.2 WAR.

The 30-year-old righty was named NL Cy Young in 2021, and he has appeared in each of the last four All-Star Games.

The Blue Jays will not have that kind of talent heading up their rotation in 2025, barring a trade for a new target who has yet to come into focus. The money that would have gone to Burnes could get spent on a veteran bat like Alex Bregman, but it remains to be seen just how serious Toronto is about entering the bidding war for his services.

George Springer’s six-year, $150 million contract remains the largest in Blue Jays history.

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