PHOENIX — On a steamy night in June, Corbin Burnes threw seven innings against the Texas Rangers at Baltimore’s Camden Yards. After an 11-2 win, the Baltimore Orioles ace went to the airport for an overnight trip to Phoenix, where his wife, Brooke, was scheduled to deliver twins the next morning.
At 1 a.m., Burnes phoned agent Scott Boras. The private plane had been forced to land in Colorado Springs because of a mechanical issue. Burnes asked Boras for options. After going through multiple possibilities, Burnes boarded a 5:30 a.m. flight out of Denver and made it to Phoenix just in time to see daughters Charlotte and Harper brought into the world.
Boras relayed this story Wednesday afternoon, not long after the Arizona Diamondbacks had introduced Burnes during a news conference at Chase Field. On Dec. 30, the Diamondbacks signed Burnes to a six-year, $210 million contract, the richest in franchise history, a move that shocked baseball.
Standing outside the media room, Boras wouldn’t say that the rushed overnight flight (and near miss of the twins’ arrival) was the exact reason Burnes and his family chose the Diamondbacks over better offers. But he made clear family was the main factor in the decision. Boras said Burnes flew back to Phoenix six to eight times during his season in Baltimore, two days in Scottsdale with family, then back to baseball.
“It was a difficult season for Corbin, it really was,” Boras said.
Since breaking out during the 2020 pandemic season, Burnes, 30, has been among the game’s best pitchers. The right-hander won the 2021 National League Cy Young Award with the Milwaukee Brewers and placed in the Top 10 of voting the next two seasons. With the Orioles last summer, Burnes went 15-9 with a 2.92 ERA and finished fifth in the Cy Young race.
Last season, the Diamondbacks led the major leagues in runs scored. Next season, they could have one of the National League’s top rotations. In addition to Burnes, the Diamondbacks have an established ace in Zac Gallen and solid starters in Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez. Brandon Pfaadt and Ryne Nelson also had strong stretches last season. Jordan Montgomery struggled but has pitched well in the past.
“This is a team that’s built to win baseball games and to win in the postseason,” Burnes said, mentioning Arizona’s 2023 World Series run and last season’s near postseason miss. “I’ve said it before: I want to come in and I want to win. I want to win the entire time I’m here, and this is a team that’s built to do that.”
In our Corbin Burnes era. 🫡 pic.twitter.com/FHxFaG5O5y
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) January 16, 2025
Burnes and Brooke moved to Arizona in 2018, just after Burnes’ first season with Milwaukee. With the Brewers training in the West Valley, it made sense. They lived in different spots and fell in love with the area. In 2022, they had their first child, son Carter. Arizona became their home. Burnes called playing here full time a “dream scenario.” He looked forward to a day when he could take his son to school instead of video calling him from a different city.
The Diamondbacks caught his eye in 2023. Burnes pitched against them in April in Phoenix and handled them well, allowing three hits over eight innings in a 7-1 win. The next time he faced Arizona, June 19 in Milwaukee, things didn’t go so well. Burnes gave up seven runs in five innings in a 9-1 loss. Thought Burnes at the time: “That’s a different baseball team than I played early on.”
He faced Arizona again in the NL Wild Card Series opener, allowing four runs in four innings as the Diamondbacks took their first step on an improbable World Series run.
“I remember telling people, ‘They’re playing a different style of baseball,’” Burnes said of Arizona’s aggressiveness. “I think we’re starting to see that more and more around the league. But to me, the Diamondbacks were the first team to do that.”
Boras said he visited Burnes after the start of free agency. He called Diamondbacks managing general partner Ken Kendrick shortly thereafter and told him to consider the benefits of having two No. 1 starters. Kendrick brought up Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, aces who led Arizona to a World Series title in 2001. Kendrick had not been expecting Burnes’ interest. It was not part of Arizona’s offseason business model. Kendrick told Boras he needed to think about it. The Diamondbacks came around quickly.
The deal took about five days.
Arizona had done this before. Most notably, they signed a 32-year-old Zack Greinke in 2016, a year after the right-hander had gone 19-3 with a 1.66 ERA with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Greinke made three All-Star teams before the Diamondbacks traded him during his fourth season. He also helped lead Arizona to the 2017 postseason.
A main difference: Greinke had thrown nearly 2,000 innings upon joining Arizona. In seven seasons, Burnes has thrown 903 2/3. Unheralded in high school, he had gotten a late start to his pro career, spending three years at Saint Mary’s College in California. Burnes made his big-league debut at 23.
“We would argue that the Greinke deal worked well, for both him and us,” Kendrick said. “Was it the greatest deal we ever made? No. But it was not a bad deal. And it was the kind of investment that we’re making in Burnes. Zack, when he came on board, was a top pitcher and he was getting a little (older) and that’s why we moved him. I don’t think Corbin is in that category right now. At least, I hope he’s not.”
Burnes said his goal is to stay healthy. To him, an ace takes the ball every five days, throwing seven innings, collecting 33 starts, battling through when the bullpen needs a rest. That’s what he intends to do.
“I’m just doing what I can to win baseball games and get to the postseason,” Burnes said. “I’ve been fortunate in my seven years in the big league to be in the postseason six of them. For me, postseason baseball is kind of what I know and want to be a part of every year.”
(Photo: Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)
