Arizona Diamondbacks Sign Corbin Burnes on 6-Year, $210 Million Contract

The 2023 National League champions landed the top pitcher in free agency for a deal worth $35 million a year.

Baltimore Orioles pitcher Corbin Burnes throws against the Kansas City Royals during Game 1 of a Wild Card Series on Oct. 1 at Camden Yards. | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The need was clear for the Arizona Diamondbacks in the offseason.

The Diamondbacks were 27th in baseball in team ERA (4.63) and were 16th in the majors in quality starts with 55 in 2024.

Arizona, the 2023 National League champions, missed out on the playoffs by one game despite leading MLB in runs scored with 886.

Pitching was the main area in need of improvement for the Diamondbacks. And they improved immensely in that regard by signing the top free agent starting pitcher.

Arizona agreed to a six-year, $210 million deal with Corbin Burnes on Dec. 27. The news was first broke by MLB Network's Jon Heyman at 10:21 p.m. PT on "X" (formerly known as Twitter).

Breaking: Corbin Burnes to Diamondbacks, $210M, 6 years. opt out after 2 years.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 28, 2024

The deal will pay Burnes an average of $35 million a year and includes an opt out after two years.

In Burnes first (and only) season pitching with the Baltimore Orioles in 2024, he registered a 2.92 ERA with 181 strikeouts in 194.1 innings pitched across 32 starts. He made his fourth-consecutive All-Star Game, was third in the majors with 23 quality starts and finished fifth in American League Cy Young voting.

Corbin Burnes, Frisbee 84mph Sweeper. 🥏

21 inches of horizontal break. pic.twitter.com/9ERXwyqzCz

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) October 1, 2024

The addition of Burnes to the Diamondbacks' rotation adds to an already star-studded National League West.

The division includes the defending World Series champions, Los Angeles Dodgers. The NL West also boasts some of the best players in baseball: Shohei Ohtani, Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Blake Snell, Ketel Marte, Willy Adames and now Burnes.

Burnes was one of the last big names available in free agency. And now that his destination is decided, many fans will now turn towards the second week of February when Burnes, along with other pitchers and catchers, report for Spring Training.

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