D-backs introduce new ace Burnes: 'We're in it to win it'
Steve Gilbert
@SteveGilbertMLBPHOENIX -- When asked what message he thought it sent to Diamondbacks fans when the team signed free agent right-hander Corbin Burnes to a six-year, $210 million contract last month, managing general partner Ken Kendrick was short and to the point.
"I hope it sends a message that we're in it to win it," Kendrick said.
Indeed, emboldened by a surprise run to the World Series in 2023 and an 89-win team in 2024, the Diamondbacks are determined to make the most of their competitive window.
It won't come without a cost as the team's payroll now projects to be $194 million, a big increase from the club record of around $173 million in 2024.
It has been Kendrick and his ownership group's philosophy since taking control of the club in 2004 that they would spend whatever they could without taking money out of the team.
And in years when it looked like the Diamondbacks had a chance to make a postseason run, Kendrick has pushed additional chips to the middle of the table.
"We're in a very competitive division," Kendrick said of the NL West. "But I think our fans need to understand that we're very committed to being successful. We've had some recent success, and I think we have the potential to be a championship team. And I think everybody in every city -- and this one in particular -- covets that possibility, wishes for that, hopes for that. And I think our job is to try to do everything we can to put the best team on the field possible that we can afford. And we are stretching the budget. We have done that before, and it won't be the last time that we ever do it."
Burnes and Blake Snell were regarded as the top pitchers on the free-agent market, and Snell was snapped up by the Dodgers. The market for Burnes was robust, but one team that was never mentioned in connection with him was the Diamondbacks, who seemingly came out of nowhere to sign him.
Burnes wasn't on Arizona's radar at the start of the offseason, but team officials knew that the 30-year-old made the Phoenix area his offseason home and would love to be able to stay there year-round.
In December, Burnes' agent, Scott Boras, reached out to Kendrick and told him that Burnes wanted to be a Diamondback. He told Kendrick that by signing Burnes to go along with another Boras client already on the roster, Zac Gallen, the D-backs would have one of the best one-two combinations at the top of the rotation in baseball.
Less than a week later, the deal was done, giving Arizona a rotation of Burnes, Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez, Brandon Pfaadt, Ryne Nelson and Jordan Montgomery.
Though the Diamondbacks will likely move one of those pitchers, like Montgomery or Rodriguez, they still project to have one of the best rotations in the game.
"Looking at the group that's here, you've got a great group of guys that have established themselves in the big leagues," Burnes said. "Obviously you've got Zac, you got Merrill, Eduardo, and some of the young guys that are coming up. It's a promising young group. So being a part of this group and being able to help some of the young guys to continue to evolve as pitchers and to develop into really good Major League starters, I'm glad to help out with that as well."
Burnes had numerous teams interested in him, and Boras said Burnes was willing to take less money to sign with the Diamondbacks because with three young children, including twins born last summer, being home was the most important thing to him.
Burnes and his wife, Brooke, moved to Arizona after the 2018 season.
"When we heard that this could be an opportunity, we got really excited," Burnes said. "This is something that you dream about. So we were fortunate that they were interested, and in talking to Scott, it sounds like it came together pretty quickly. So for us it showed how much they wanted us to be here and how much we wanted to be a part of the D-backs."