The Toronto Blue Jays missed out on a star starting pitcher in former Baltimore Oriole Corbin Burnes, who chose to sign with the Arizona Diamondbacks instead. While reports would indicate they still intend to try and bolster their pitching depth with a superstar signing as they pursue Roki Sasaki, it sounds like they were closer to signing Burnes than everyone thought.
In a recent report citing TSN’s Scott Mitchell, the Jays reportedly thought signing Burnes was a done deal until family considerations made him pivot toward joining the Diamondbacks. It was believed that the Blue Jays did have the highest offer on the table for Burnes, but it wasn’t enough to bring him to Toronto.
Burnes, who is 30 years old, posted a 2.92 ERA with 181 strikeouts and a 15-9 record through 194.1 innings pitched with the Orioles last season. His ability to help them win games as a certified ace, maintaining his dominance from his Milwaukee days, made him one of the most coveted pitchers to hit the free agent market this offseason.
Blue Jays missed out on Corbin Burnes, but that wasn’t all
The Blue Jays, who also missed out on superstar Juan Soto, are hoping they can make up for their missed efforts on other players and bring in Sasaki. At the very least, the Jays survived him narrowing his list down to the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and Toronto.
The Blue Jays’ current pitching depth does not look pretty. While Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, and Bowden Francis could provide solid production for them in the 2025 season, they don’t quite have the depth that has anyone considering them as World Series contenders. There are reports they’re considering moving Chris Bassitt to free up some money, and if they can’t replace him, the depth gets even scarier.
At the end of the day, there has to be some credit given to the Blue Jays’ front office for trying to strengthen their pitching depth. They have had a disastrous offseason and it’s not looking like they’re going to improve much from their 74-88 record last season unless they make another big move. Hopefully, they can improve a bit more before the 2025 season gets underway and can try to make a deep playoff run.
Perhaps if Burnes had waited a bit longer, he would've found this flurry of Blue Jays activity a bit more appealing. Probably, though, the allure of home in Arizona still would've been too much for him to pass up.