Before and during the Winter Meetings earlier this month, the starting pitching market moved at a fast pace. Blake Snell, Max Fried, Walker Buehler, and many of the top rotation pieces have already signed. But Corbin Burnes, perhaps the best of them all, is still a free agent. The San Francisco Giants have been identified as the favorites to land him and that’s still the case, but circumstances can quickly change if there isn’t a resolution soon.
The Giants are favorites to land Corbin Burnes, but he will come at a steep price
Burnes, however, is not making things easy and reportedly wants at least $245 million, the same guarantee that Stephen Strasburg got in the 2019-20 off-season:
“Most of the recent chatter regarding Burnes has centered on some combination of the Blue Jays, Giants, Red Sox and Orioles (albeit to a lesser extent in Baltimore’s case). Mark Feinsand of MLB.com writes that San Francisco has had a standing offer on the table, though he notes that the Giants could elect to move on to other targets if there continues to be no resolution on Burnes’ part,” MLB Trade Rumors wrote.
Burnes would look good at the top of the Giants rotation
Burnes, the winner of the 2021 NL Cy Young, would be the perfect Snell replacement for the Giants. He posted a 2.92 ERA in 2024, his first and only one with the Orioles. The Giants have been trying to make a significant free-agent splash for years. They have signed their fair share of quality players, but Burnes could sure make a difference as a complement to fellow ace Logan Webb.
San Francisco will sure have competition in the form of the Toronto Blue Jays, a team that has similarly tried to recruit top talent but has mostly failed. The Boston Red Sox are still in the mix even after landing Walker Buehler and Garrett Crochet, and of course, the O’s can’t be ruled out. Many organizations want Burnes, but most of them appear to be playing the waiting game at this point.
