Arizona Diamonbacks make big free agency splash

The Arizona Diamondbacks were eliminated on the final day of the regular season in 2024, and they want to prevent that from happening again. Early Saturday morning, the Diamondbacks signed starting pitcher Corbin Burnes to a six-year, $210 million deal, according to the New York Post's Jon Heyman. Additionally, the deal has an opt-out after two years.

MLB.com's Mark Feinsand reported on Thursday that Burnes wanted a deal that equaled Stephen Strasburg's eight-year $245 million contract. While his contract with Arizona isn't worth the same amount of total money, the AAV is the same as Strasburg's at $35 million. Adding Burnes completely bolsters the Diamondbacks' starting rotation which was fourth-worst in terms of team ERA in 2024.

Here's what it looks like after signing Burnes.

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Burnes joins a deep rotation of Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez, Brandon Pfaadt and Jordan Montgomery. He posted a 15-9 record in 2024 with a 2.92 ERA and 181 strikeouts. After Max Fried signed an eight-year $218 million deal with the New York Yankees, many thought Burnes would sign a deal worth more than Fried's, and while the AAV is higher in Burnes' contract, it's telling that no team wanted to give him a deal as long as Fried's.

One reason why he might not have signed a bigger deal is his strikeout rate has plummeted since his Cy Young winning season in 2021. That year, Burnes' strikeout rate was 35.6% but this year it was 23.1%. He has still been named an All-Star in every one of those years.

At the same time, the signing makes Arizona a contender in the NL West. While the Dodgers should win the division again, the Diamondbacks and Padres will be in a dogfight for second place and a Wild Card spot. The last time Arizona was a Wild Card team they made the World Series.

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