Why Corbin Burnes reportedly signed with the Diamondbacks for less money

Corbin Burnes is heading to the desert.

In a hot stove shocker, Burnes, considered the top pitcher on the free agent market, agreed to a six-year, $210 million contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks early Saturday morning, according to multiple reports. The agreement contains an opt-out clause after 2026. Jon Heyman of New York Post was first to report the news.

Still just 30 years old and represented by high-powered agent Scott Boras, Burnes was expected to command the top contract among free agent starting pitchers, especially after two-time All-Star Max Fried signed the largest contract for a left-hander in MLB history with the New York Yankees earlier in December.

Burnes reportedly stayed offered more money by the likes of the San Francisco Giants, who were considered the front-runners to land the ace, and the Toronto Blue Jays, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

Aside from receiving a likely competitive offer from the Diamondbacks, Burnes, who lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, relished the opportunity to stay closer to home, especially after the birth of her twin daughters in June, according to ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez.

Plus, as Nightengale notes, the difference in tax structure in Arizona certainly didn’t hurt. The state applies a flat income tax rate of 2.5 percent, which means that all residents, regardless of income, pay the same tax rate of 2.5 percent.

Burnes, the 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner, joins a Diamondbacks team that won the NL pennant in 2023 and made a furious second-half push for the postseason in ’24, falling just short as a team with 89 wins in a loaded NL West division.

Burnes will front a rotation that includes ’23 All-Star Zac Gallen, World Series champions Jordan Montgomery and Eduardo Rodriguez, and reliable veteran Merrill Kelly, among others.

In seven seasons, Burnes has recorded a 3.19 ERA and 1,051 strikeouts in 903 2/3 innings.