The Giants have already been linked to some distinguished free brokers this winter, and it seems as if Corbin Burnes is one other title on the membership’s checklist of targets. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand writes that the Giants “are believed to have important curiosity in Burnes,” and thus San Francisco joins the Blue Jays, Purple Sox, Yankees, and Burnes’ former staff the Orioles as golf equipment recognized to be pursuing the right-hander to some extent.
MLBTR tasks Burnes to land a seven-year, $200MM deal as the highest pitcher on the free agent market, and signing the hurler at such a value could be an interesting transfer for a Giants membership that’s reportedly trying to scale back payroll. The Giants’ Opening Day payroll final season was roughly $208.1MM (as per Cot’s Baseball Contracts) and so they at present have round $182.2MM on the books for 2025 in response to RosterResource’s calculations. Buying and selling any of Mike Yastrzemski, Camilo Doval, LaMonte Wade Jr., Taylor Rogers or Tyler Rogers would unlock some extra money, however because it stands proper now, inking Burnes for one thing within the ballpark of a $28.5MM common annual worth would alone convey San Francisco principally proper again to its 2024 payroll.
That mentioned, the Giants haven’t essentially been appearing like a staff that’s planning on restricted spending. San Francisco has proven curiosity in two of the offseason’s bigger-name free brokers in Willy Adames and now Burnes, plus the Giants had no less than a check-in on Juan Soto’s market. Ha-Seong Kim and Tomoyuki Sugano are two different notables on the staff’s radar, amongst less-pricey choices. And, in fact, the Giants already made an enormous spending splurge earlier than free company even opened by protecting Matt Chapman off the market with a six-year, $151MM extension.
Buster Posey was reportedly closely concerned within the Chapman negotiations even earlier than changing into the staff’s new president of baseball operations, and people efforts to retain a distinguished star seemingly indicated that Posey’s entrance workplace was ready to take a extra aggressive stance in making an attempt to land top-shelf expertise. Signing a Burnes or an Adames would lastly put to relaxation the narrative that the group is unable to draw star free brokers, although it stays to be seen if these forays into the highest of the 2024-25 free agent market are something greater than due diligence, if Giants possession does wish to restrict spending.
Burnes has some West Coast ties, as he hails from Bakersfield, California and he performed faculty ball at Saint Mary’s Faculty of California in Moraga (about 40 minutes away from San Francisco). From a purely on-field perspective, there’s additionally a pure match — Burnes would step proper into Blake Snell’s sneakers as the brand new ace, teaming with Logan Webb to develop into one of many sport’s higher one-two rotation punches. Kyle Harrison and Robbie Ray would every transfer a slot down within the rotation order, and San Francisco would achieve some flexibility in deciding what to do with the fifth starter’s job. Any of Landen Roupp, Hayden Birdsong, Mason Black, Keaton Winn, or high prospect Carson Whisenhunt might compete for the job in Spring Coaching, or Jordan Hicks may very well be given one other shot at a beginning function if the Giants don’t wish to simply preserve him within the bullpen.
Since San Francisco exceeded the luxurious tax threshold final season, they might pay an extra penalty for signing Burnes or any free agent that rejected a qualifying provide. The Giants must quit $1MM of funds from their worldwide signing bonus pool, and likewise their second- and fifth-highest picks within the 2025 draft. The membership already gave up two picks (their second- and third-rounders) within the 2024 draft to signal Snell and Chapman final winter, as each gamers rejected qualifying presents earlier than coming into free company.
