How D-backs landed Burnes late in the game
Steve Gilbert
@SteveGilbertMLBIt started with a phone call and ended with a six-year, $210 million free-agent deal for right-hander Corbin Burnes.
Burnes was one of the top two pitchers on the market -- and while he had been linked to other teams, the Diamondbacks were not one of them, nor was the 30-year-old in Arizona's original offseason plans.
"We weren't anticipating this happening," Diamondbacks managing general partner Ken Kendrick said.
That all changed when Burnes' agent, Scott Boras, sat in the pitcher's living room not long before Christmas and watched Burnes interacting with his family.
Burnes and his wife, Brooke, have three children. A 2-year-old son, Carter, and twin daughters Harper and Charlotte, who were born last June. They live not far from the Diamondbacks' Spring Training complex, and it was always their desire for Corbin to pitch for Arizona so he could live at home year-round.
By that point, Boras said he was pretty far down the road in negotiations with some other teams, but as he watched Burnes with his family, he knew he had to at least take a shot at the Diamondbacks.
So Boras called Kendrick, who in turn reached out to Arizona GM Mike Hazen, who was vacationing with his four kids in New Zealand.
They discussed the possible ramifications of a deal with Burnes and how it might work in the budget, and they agreed that they should open negotiations.
The problem was not only was Hazen in New Zealand, but Kendrick said assistant GM Amiel Sawdaye was in France with his family and team president/CEO Derrick Hall was also traveling.
"I was the lone guy standing," Kendrick said. "What the heck am I going to do now?"
Kendrick called Boras back and they began to talk, with Boras pitching (no pun intended) the owner on the value of having two ace pitchers. Think of what it would mean to have Zac Gallen, another Boras client, and Burnes on the same staff, Boras said.
In fact, Boras put together what he said was a "brief" that included the success teams have had over the years with a pair of aces. The 2001 world champion Diamondbacks were one of those teams, with Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling at the top of the rotation.
While the negotiations came late in the free-agent process, they concluded quickly once they began.
"I think all of this went down over four or five days," Kendrick said. "With me trying to reach Mike in the mountains of New Zealand. I'm glad it worked out. I hope it does work out. I know it worked out to get a deal. Now see how it goes."