Former Brewers star Corbin Burnes is back in the Netherlands on a big free agent deal

Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Corbin Burnes (39) delivers a pitch against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second inning on Sunday, June 6, 2021, at American Family Field in Milwaukee.

Former Brewers hurler Corbin Burnes made a big splash in free agency overnight early Saturday, reportedly signing a six-year deal worth $210 million with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The richest deal in Diamondbacks history includes an opt-out after two years.

After six years with the Brewers, Burnes spent the 2024 season in Baltimore, where he became the first Brewers pitcher to win the Cy Young Award in nearly 40 years. Milwaukee traded him to the Orioles last offseason for pitcher DL Hall and infielder Joey Ortiz.

More:Before taking on the Brewers, Corbin Burnes talks about his time in Milwaukee and the trade

Hall has struggled with injuries but remains an interesting rotation or bullpen option for the future. Ortiz has become the team’s everyday third baseman and has a good chance of becoming the team’s starting shortstop with the departure of Willy Adames.

Burnes, a fourth-round pick of the Brewers in 2016, famously struggled through a brutal 2019 season but dramatically came back to himself in 2020, going 11-5 and winning the National League Cy Young in 2021 with a 2.43 ERA. In doing so, he became the first Brewers pitcher to win the award since Pete Vuckovich in 1982 and third overall (Rollie Fingers in 1981).

Burnes recorded 234 strikeouts in 165 innings with just 34 walks in 2021. On September 11 of that year against Cleveland, Burnes went eight innings against Cleveland, with Josh Hader going the ninth inning for the second no-hitter in franchise history and the first since 1987.

In 2022, Burnes led the league in strikeouts with 243, despite clearly supporting the organization following his arbitration in February 2023. He was an All-Star again in 2023, but a year before free agency, Milwaukee still traded him to the Orioles.

He excelled again last year, starting the 2024 All-Star Game and going 15-9 with a 2.92 ERA in 194 innings. His strikeouts decreased slightly (181 and 8.4 strikeouts per nine innings), but he continued to drastically limit walks, allowing just 48. He finished fifth in American League Cy Young voting.

Burnes’ last appearance in a Brewers jersey came in the 2023 postseason, a disappointing loss to the Diamondbacks in which Burnes allowed four home runs. His next start will be in a D-Backs jersey.

Burnes was sensational in a playoff appearance for Baltimore last year, allowing one run on five hits in eight innings. But the Orioles suffered a 1-0 loss, followed by a 2-1 setback to the Royals in Game 2 of the wild-card round for a series win.

With the signing of Burnes, there are now 13 free agent contracts worth $20 million or more in annual value across Major League Baseball this offseason, and there will likely be at least one more in Mets slugger Pete Alonso give more. The Brewers have agreed to two contracts of this value in their franchise history, and neither was a free-agent acquisition: the extensions of Christian Yelich in 2020 (nine years, $215 million) and Ryan Braun in 2011 (five years, $105 million). .

The Brewers came close to a free-agent deal in 2019, signing catcher Yasmani Grandal to a one-year deal worth $18.25 million.

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Former Brewers star Corbin Burnes is back in the Netherlands on a big free agent deal

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