Corbin Burnes appears to have dodged the worst-case scenario with his shoulder.
The Diamondbacks right-hander does not expect to need surgery, according to Monday’s update. Burnes said he is dealing with a tired shoulder, not a new injury, and will try to recover with rest, via Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. He is still waiting on another opinion, but Jack Sommers of SI.com reports that surgery does not seem likely.
That is a welcome development for Arizona after Burnes has already been through two wrecked seasons since signing a seven-year, $210MM deal ahead of the 2025 campaign.
His first year with the Diamondbacks was derailed by Tommy John surgery in June 2025, which limited him to 11 starts and 64 1/3 innings. Then, during rehab this past June, he suffered a teres major strain in his shoulder.
That setback kept him out of the majors until Sept. 8.
When he finally returned, Burnes only made three starts and threw 10 1/3 innings before going back on the injured list with shoulder inflammation and missing Arizona’s final week.
There was a time this season when a very different offseason decision looked possible. If Burnes had come back in the summer and looked like the four-time All-Star and 2021 NL Cy Young winner the Diamondbacks expected, he would have had a real opt-out call to make.
Instead, he can opt out and leave $140MM on the table, but that now seems highly unlikely after a year and a half that has gone sideways. The fact that he and his family already owned a home in Scottsdale before he signed with Arizona only makes a return to the open market look even less probable.
The on-field numbers tell the story too. Burnes still managed a sharp 2.66 ERA in his shortened first season in Arizona, but his brief September work was a different picture entirely. In that smaller sample, he posted a 7.84 ERA and lost around 2 mph of velocity.
If Burnes does stay with the Diamondbacks through 2027, getting back to anything close to his pre-injury form would be a major lift for a club that is now stuck in a three-year playoff drought.
Arizona went 86-76 this season and finished two games out of a Wild Card spot, despite a rotation that ranked 19th in ERA at 4.28 and 24th in fWAR at 7.9. Burnes, Eduardo Rodriguez, Merrill Kelly and Brandon Pfaadt are all expected back next season, while Michael Soroka and Zac Gallen are headed for free agency.
Soroka put together a useful 3.41 ERA, though injuries limited him to 116 innings. Gallen’s season was much rougher after he re-signed on a one-year, $22.025MM deal last winter. He finished with a 6.07 ERA in 105 1/3 innings, a major reason Arizona fell short of the postseason.
In Other News...
Former Diamondbacks Outfielder Just Opened An Interesting NL West Door
Alek Thomas has put himself back on the open market after electing free agency at the end of the 2026 minor league season, another small but notable turn for a player who has already been part of the NL Wests roster churn. He spent part of the year with Triple-A Oklahoma City after the Dodgers designated him for assignment in early September and removed him from the 40-man roster, a reminder that his path through the division has already been anything but straightforward.
Thomas is still best known in Arizona for the stretch he spent with the Diamondbacks before being dealt to Los Angeles in May 2026, and now his next stop is unsettled again. For a club that has seen plenty of familiar names circle back through the division, his free agency creates at least the possibility of another reunion somewhere in the NL West, even if the landing spot is still to be determined. [Read more 🡒]
Diamondbacks Face A Bigger Ketel Marte Decision Than Fans Realize
The Diamondbacks second straight near miss has already pushed the front office toward some hard winter questions, and Ketel Marte sits near the center of them. He has been one of the franchises defining players, the kind of hitter and presence who usually gives a club some stability when everything else feels unsettled, but this season did not go as expected and it left Arizona staring at a bigger roster conversation than most fans probably realized.
Martes situation is complicated by timing as much as performance. He is moving toward 10-and-5 rights in 2026, which would give him the ability to block a trade, and the Diamondbacks have to weigh whether keeping him remains the best path if they are trying to reshape the roster after another frustrating finish. His value to the organization has never really been in doubt, but how the team answers this question could help determine the direction of the next phase in Arizona. [Read more 🡒]
Diamondbacks Players Just Turned Up Pressure On A Huge Torey Lovullo Decision
The Diamondbacks season ended with the kind of final-day gut punch that leaves a clubhouse reflecting more on what comes next than what just slipped away. After the loss to the Padres eliminated Arizona from playoff contention, Torey Lovullos future became one of the biggest questions hanging over the team, especially with his contract expiring and his own comments leaving the door open on whether he will be back.
For the players, though, the message was clear. They repeatedly praised Lovullo for the way he led the group and made it known they want him to return next season, putting some real pressure on the front office as it weighs a major decision. For a club trying to regroup after a disappointing finish, the managers status now feels like one of the first defining choices of the offseason. [Read more 🡒]