In one of the most shocking moves of the offseason, ace Corbin Burnes signed a six-year deal with the Diamondbacks for $210 million.
Despite a number of big-market teams being involved in rumors, including the Boston Red Sox, Burnes spurned them all in favor of Arizona. The D-Backs, not exactly known for big spending, doled out a mammoth contract to a player they weren’t even among the favorites for.
Burnes was perhaps the biggest prize of this year’s free agent class not named Juan Soto. He’s been one of the best and most consistent pitchers in baseball in the last several years. He’s also managed to stay largely healthy. Since 2021, he has finished in the top 10 in Cy Young voting every year, winning the NL award in 2021. He has a combined 2.94 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 4.31 strikeout to walk ratio in 757 innings pitched. Being traded from Milwaukee to Baltimore did little to slow him down, as he finished fifth in the AL Cy Young race last year.
After the Red Sox lost out on Soto, Burnes became their biggest target, especially since Max Fried signed with the Yankees soon after. They were considered one of the frontrunners, along with the Mets, Giants and Blue Jays. As the offseason marched on, the Red Sox’ chances appeared to be waning. However, Burnes recently revealed that the Sox were among the frontrunners until the very end. He claimed he had “very similar offers” from both Boston and Baltimore.
Corbin Burnes reveals how close Red Sox came to signing him before he signed with Diamondbacks
Newest @Dbacks pitcher Corbin Burnes reveals the teams that were trying to sign him this winter 🤫 pic.twitter.com/xC2y0gFpbc
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) March 11, 2025
Although this does suggest that the Red Sox were close, it’s not exactly news that Sox fans wanted to hear. The fact that their offer was similar to that of the Orioles, a team whose spending consistently well below theirs, doesn’t reflect that they were particularly interested. Of course, we already knew that they lost out to Arizona, another team not known for prolific spending.
That being said, as good as Burnes’ pedigree is, his contract is steep and includes an opt-out after the first two years. He’s also already 30, so there’s a chance it doesn’t work out for Arizona. It would have been nice for the Sox to land him, but he’s not quite the slam dunk that Soto is.
