Why Corbin Burnes Signed With Diamondbacks Over Blue Jays, Giants

Burnes, the top free agent starting pitcher available, is headed to the desert.

Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Corbin Burnes walks off the field after the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on August 10, 2024. / Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

Corbin Burnes is headed to the desert.

In a hot stove shocker, Burnes, regarded as the top pitcher on the free agent market, agreed to a six-year, $210 million contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks early Saturday morning, according to multiple reports. The deal includes an opt-out clause after 2026. Jon Heyman of The New York Post was first to report the news.

Burnes, still just 30 years old and represented by powerful agent Scott Boras, was expected to command the top contract among free agent starting pitchers, especially after two-time All-Star Max Fried signed the largest contract for a lefthander in MLB history with the New York Yankees earlier in December.

But Burnes chose the Diamondbacks over the likes of the San Francisco Giants, who were thought to be the frontrunners to land the ace, and the Toronto Blue Jays, who were also in the running to land the ace starter, for less money than what Fried received from the Yankees.

Why Did Corbin Burnes Choose the Diamondbacks?

Aside from receiving a competitive offer from the Diamondbacks, Burnes, who resides in Scottsdale, Ariz., relished the opportunity to stay closer to home, especially after the birth of his twin daughters in June, according to Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.

Plus, as Bob Nightengale of USA Today notes, the difference in tax structure in Arizona certainly didn't hurt. The state utilizes a flat income tax rate of 2.5 percent, meaning all residents, regardless of income, pay the same 2.5 percent tax rate.

Burnes, the 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner, joins a Diamondbacks team that won the NL pennant in 2023 and made a furious second-half push for the postseason in '24, falling just short as an 89-win team in a loaded NL West division.

Burnes will frontline a rotation that includes '23 All-Star Zac Gallen, World Series champions Jordan Montgomery and Eduardo Rodriguez, and dependable veteran Merrill Kelly, among others.

In seven seasons, Burnes has recorded a 3.19 ERA and 1,051 strikeouts in 903 2/3 innings pitched.

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