Major League Baseball’s biggest free agent pitcher is headed south as Corbin Burnes shocked the baseball world by signing a massive contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The 30-year-old Cy Young Award winner signed a six-year, $210 million contract – not too bad of a payday, except for all that living and playing in the terrible Arizona heat. Luckily for Burnes, who lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, he’s relatively used to the high temperatures. And hey, at least he’s getting out of Baltimore and not playing for the Orioles anymore.

THE DIAMONDBACKS NOW HAVE ONE OF THE BEST ROTATIONS

The shocking thing about the D’Backs signing MLB’s top free agent pitcher is that the team came out of nowhere with the move, having not previously been mentioned as a contender for his services. Burnes was linked to several big-name teams that needed to strengthen their starting lineup, such as the Toronto Blue Jays and the San Francisco Giants. The Yankees were reportedly interested in Burnes before signing Max Fried to a massive eight-year, $218 million contract a few weeks ago.

And don’t look now, but the Diamondbacks have now secured one of the best starting rotations.

Burnes will join fellow starters Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez and Brandon Pfaadt in what is an absolutely stacked group of flamethrowers for those who may have taken a break from MLB this winter.

God knows the Diamondbacks will need it as they find themselves in the highly competitive National League West, where the Los Angeles Dodgers continue to spend money while the reigning World Series champions just signed outfielder Teoscar Hernandez to a three-year deal $66 million deal yesterday.

Arizona will be hoping that Burnes, who leads all MLB pitchers in strikeouts (946) and ERA (2.88) since 2020, is exactly what they need to most likely face a team like the Dodgers in this year’s playoffs, after missing out by just one game last postseason.