Corbin Burnes Injury Update Sounds Like Great News for Diamondbacks

The Arizona Diamondbacks' rotation may end up getting its top arm a bit sooner than expected, if all things go according to plan.

Diamondbacks right-handed ace Corbin Burnes, who has not pitched since June 1 of 2025 after suffering an elbow injury and subsequently undergoing Tommy John Surgery, was at Chase Field on Tuesday, and provided an update on his already-aggressive recovery timeline.

Burnes' update was quite optimistic, and could be a positive sign for Arizona. Here's what he had to say:

Diamondbacks' Corbin Burnes on his rehab timeline

Arizona Diamondbacks' Corbin Burnes (39) pitches against the Washington Nationals at Chase Field in Phoenix on June 1, 2025. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Burnes had already set a somewhat short timeline for himself. He has, all throughout the process, expected to come back around the time of the 2026 All-Star Break. Burnes said that he has not run into any obstacles, and he may even be ahead of schedule.

"Nothing has deterred us from being any slower," Burnes said (via PHNX Diamondbacks on X/Twitter). "Maybe slightly early."

Corbin Burnes is on track and perhaps slightly ahead of schedule to return to the D-backs starting rotation.

(Please excuse the fire alarm going off at the end 😂) pic.twitter.com/DoTK4Ru9kN
— PHNX Diamondbacks (@PHNX_Dbacks) May 19, 2026

"It's more gonna be how the next three to four weeks go, when we start getting into games and start building that pitch count up, make sure we're recovering well, able to add pitches as we want," he said.

Burnes did, notably, mention that he would be starting to throw to live hitters as soon as next week — an important step in the recovery process before getting into real-game action. Burnes expects to get into live games soon, as well.

"Next week we start live, so get into games in a couple weeks. And then those first two or three outings are kinda gonna depend on the time when we come back and how quickly we can build up," he said.

The recovery from such an major procedure is a long, grueling process. It's one Burnes has never had to go through prior to his unfortunate 2025 season. An extremely disciplined and routine-oriented pitcher, it is not shocking to see Burnes sticking rigidly to his timeline, and an earlier-than-expected return to the mound would certainly not be much of a surprise, either.

Burnes pitched to a 2.66 ERA over the course of just 11 starts in 2025, after signing a franchise-record six-year, $210 million contract with the Diamondbacks in the preceding offseason. Burnes lives in Arizona with his wife and kids.

Certainly, the Diamondbacks' rotation could always use a top-tier arm, though Arizona's starters have been throwing the ball quite well, of late.

Eduardo Rodriguez and Michael Soroka have continued their expectation-smashing seasons, while Ryne Nelson and Merrill Kelly have both begun to show signs of turning their respective poor early-season results around. Zac Gallen has struggled this year, but just turned in a six-inning quality start on Monday night against the San Francisco Giants.

When Burnes does return, another tough decision may have to be made. It's also possible it takes the ace some time to get back to his elite form, as velocity and command can take a while to return following Tommy john surgery.

Add us as a preferred source on Google