Arizona Diamondbacks: Show Me The Money

A review and look at how each of the Diamondbacks Top-10 contracts turned out following the signing of Corbin Burnes

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke throws to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first inning on June 24, 2019 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Ariz. Dodgers Vs Diamondbacks 2019 / Rob Schumacher/The Republic

As one might be aware, the Arizona Diamondbacks signed ace and 2021 NL CY Young winner, Corbin Burnes, to the franchise's largest contract in team history. As one might wonder, there haven't been many contracts worth 100 million given out by Arizona.

Have they been worth it? Who makes up the top 10 largest contracts in team history? Were they ones that the team would do over again? Find out below.

There are a few oddities. There are five hitters and five pitchers in the list below. Three of the pitchers are left-handed. While, three outfielders were given contracts out of the five hitters.

No. 10 - Lourdes Gurriel Jr., 3 years, $42 MM, opt-out after the 2025 season

Surprisingly, this deal ranks as the tenth largest in team history despite it being a lower number compared the magnitude of deals given out in recent history. Plus, it was signed just over a year ago in December 2023.

In Gurriel Jr.'s first season of the deal, he hit .279/.322/.435 with an OPS of .757 and an OPS+ of 109. Paying 14 million for a performance worth 9% above league average, but with a aWAR (average between Fangraphs and Baseball Reference) of 1.6 is right around the going rate in MLB. If not a tad low.

Gurriel Jr. did have 18 homers, 75 RBI, and the D-backs would be hard-pressed to replicate that production so this is a deal they would do again.

No. 9 - Troy Glaus, 4 years, $45 MM

Fresh off the worst season in team history, the D-backs spent largely on the third baseman hoping his power would help them rebound in 2005. Despite a 3.4 bWAR and .885 OPS with 37 homers to go with 97 RBI, it was not enough for Arizona to contend. He co-led in errors with 24 and had the MLB-worst fielding percentage at third.

They would trade him that off-season to the Toronto Blue Jays to clear their books and get Orlando Hudson and Miguel Batista in return. This is likely not a deal the team would have done again as it was just not a good fit for player and team.

No. 8 - Randy Johnson, 4 years, $52.4 MM

This is a signing that the D-backs would absolutely do again and do it every day of the week. There might not be a better free agent signing in MLB history that went as well or better than this one.

All the Diamondbacks got out of the deal was a World Series, an ace starting pitcher who won the CY Young all four years, and became one of the best pitchers in MLB all-time. Johnson recorded an astounding 38.1 WAR over those four seasons.

No. 7 - Yasmany Tomas, 6 years, $68.5 MM

Tomas was supposed to be the next great Cuban star in baseball, but unfortunately, he failed to reach that lofty goal or the contract that paid him as such. In a time before strict rules about contracts given to international free agents, the D-backs paid large for their own shot at getting a player like Yoenis Cespedes.

Tomas quickly proved to be over-matched at the plate with a 97 ops+ and .765 OPS, and in the field. He only appeared in the majors in four of the six seasons. This is one contract that the team would love to have back.

No. 6 - Ketel Marte, 5 years, $76 MM

Signed before the 2022 season, this extension with Marte covered the years, 2023-2027 with an option for 2028. However, prior to the extension, Marte was under contract through 2024 from his prior deal, so the new money is just now kicking in.

Judging how Marte did in 2023-24 with a batting average of .283, OPS of .885, OPS+ of 140, and a third place finish in the 24' NL MVP voting, it's safe to say that the D-backs and GM Mike Hazen would give this contract out again to the 31-year-old.

No. 5 - Eduardo Rodriguez, 4 years, $80 MM

Rodriguez signed this contract at the Winter Meetings in 2023 following his standout season with the Tigers and the D-backs in need of a reliable veteran starter. Unfortunately for both sides, Rodriguez suffered a LAT strain right before the season that wound up keeping him from action until August.

It's debatable whether the team would do this contract again considering he is entering his 30's, but for now, it's a toss-up. One can't accurately judge whether Rodriguez will bounce back to his 3.30 ERA in 2023 or stay an upper-fours ERA.

If he can bounce back and prove healthy, this is a contract the team would likely be willing to do again. If he can't, it's a deal that will be looked back upon as similar to Madison Bumgarner, who is up next and another left-hander, coincidentally.

No. 4 - Madison Bumgarner, 5 years, $85 MM

This contract was an unmitigated disaster from day one on Opening Day in 2020. Bumgarner never settled into being the staff ace or even the veteran workhorse that he was signed to be. It was a tough end to the career of a very talented left-hander.

Over his first three seasons with Arizona, Bumgarner had a 4.98 ERA over 346.2 innings. Then, in 2023, the wheels came off as he recorded a 10.26 ERA over four starts. The D-backs released him and ate the final year and half of his contract, proving that this deal is not one that would be given again in any fashion.

No. 3 - Corbin Carroll, 8 years, $111 MM

The hitter with the largest contract in team history is also the face of the franchise. Carroll made this deal look extremely wise as he led the D-backs to the World Series in the first year in 2023. Plus, he was the All-Star starter in left field and a unanimous winner of the NL Rookie of the Year award.

Despite a very tough start to the 2024 season, Carroll rebounded to hit .259 with an OPS of .919 in the second half as he helped lead MLB's best offense.

With a proven ability to handle adversity well and overcome it, there's not a doubt in Arizona's mind that they would do this deal again. The only question would be whether they would spend even more money to make a 10+ year deal.

No. 2 - Zack Greinke, 6 years, $206.5 MM

This was a stunning contract that no one in the world of MLB saw coming in the winter of 2015. Greinke's deal made history as the largest contract given to a pitcher. However, for a team that was still struggling to spend anywhere near to the amount that they are now, it was a hefty bill.

Greinke made up almost a quarter of the team's payroll, and despite four excellent seasons with three All-Star appearances and getting named to the 20th Anniversary team, it's unlikely the D-backs would make this deal again back in 2015. The contract forced the team to trade him in 2019 to be able to spend money elsewhere.

The onerous contract just took up too much of the payroll and limited the moves Arizona could make to fill out the rest of their roster.

No. 1 - Corbin Burnes, 6 years, $210 MM, Opt-out after 2026 season

It remains to be seen how this contract will pan out as it's yet to start until Opening Day of this season. However, Burnes is just entering his age-30 and is smack-dab in the center of his prime as a pitcher.

Plus, the team's payroll outlook and spending ability has risen quite a bit since 2015 to where the team has been able to fill out a quality roster before spending large on Burnes. His $35 million average annual will not be quite as harsh on the team as it would've been before.

Only time will tell whether this deal will wind up being one they would do again, especially since he could opt-out in two years which will have limited the contract and money dolled out.