PHOENIX (AP) — The normally budget-conscious Arizona Diamondbacks have been willing to spend big money over the past several years, taking chances on the notoriously volatile market of free agent starting pitching.
So far, it’s a bet that has come up snake eyes.
Over the past 5 1/2 years, Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick has committed roughly $425 million to four pitchers — Corbin Burnes, Jordan Montgomery, Eduardo Rodríguez and Madison Bumgarner.
The combined return on that investment: A 30-48 record, 5.25 ERA, minus-0.4 WAR and two Tommy John surgeries.
Yikes.
The latest bad news came on June 1 when Burnes — who in January — abruptly left a game against the Nationals with right elbow pain.
Now he’s and might not return to the mound until 2027.
It’s a brutal blow for the D-backs, who have a 31-34 record heading into Monday night’s game against the Mariners.
The 30-year-old Burnes seemed like the safest bet on the market last winter when the D-backs made the signing.
The four-time All-Star and 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner had been remarkably consistent and healthy over the previous four seasons, making at least 28 starts every year.
“I might as well do another job if we’re going to be scared of bringing in a guy of this caliber on your team,” Arizona’s general manager Mike Hazen said at Burnes’ introductory news conference.
Added Kendrick: “We’re stretching the budget. It won’t be the last time.”
And for two months, he was everything Hazen, Kendrick and the D-backs hoped for with a 3-2 record and 2.66 ERA.
Now he’s out for the foreseeable future.
It’s the latest in a bad run of luck for Arizona’s front office. It’s also a brutal reminder of the substantial risk in handing out big money to pitchers in an era when injuries are happening at an alarming rate.
The D-backs aren’t the only team facing the same problem, even in their own division. The Los Angeles Dodgers — including starters Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki and Tony Gonsolin.
Snell has made just two starts this season because of injuries after in the offseason.
The difference is the Dodgers seem to have to keep adding talent.
The D-backs do not.
The string of disappointing signings started in December 2019, when the D-backs added Bumgarner with a . The lefty had declined from his peak in the early-to-mid 2010s, when he led the San Francisco Giants to three World Series titles, but there was reason to believe he would be a solid middle-of-the-rotation option.
Instead, he regressed even more in the desert, going 15-32 with a 5.23 ERA over a little more than three seasons. The D-backs after he had a 10.26 ERA through four starts, eating more than $30 million in the process.
The D-backs made a surprise run to the World Series that year and invested in a pair of pitchers — Montgomery and Rodriguez — during the ensuing offseason. Montgomery with a vesting option for 2025. Rodriguez was .
Much like the Bumgarner signing, both seemed like good deals at the time.
Montgomery had just helped the Rangers beat the Diamondbacks in the World Series and was a solid lefty with a sub-4.00 ERA in each of the previous three seasons.
Rodriguez was coming off one of the best seasons of his career after going 13-9 with a 3.30 ERA for the Detroit Tigers.
Things haven’t worked out for either pitcher.
Montgomery was awful in 2024 with a 6.23 ERA and eventually demoted to the bullpen. But because he made 21 starts, his vesting option for $22.5 million kicked in for 2025.
His bid for a bounce-back season ended before it even started. The lefty got hurt during spring training in March and , ending his time in the desert.
Rodriguez hurt his shoulder during spring training in 2024 and didn’t make his D-backs debut until August, contributing a 5.04 ERA as the team faded down the stretch and missed the playoffs. He’s battled injuries and ineffectiveness again this year with a 6.70 ERA through 10 starts.
There’s still time for the Rodriguez and Burnes deals to take a turn for the better. Even if Burnes doesn’t return until 2027, he’d have four more years remaining on his deal.
D-backs manager Torey Lovullo chose to remain optimistic following Burnes’ injury.
“We’re all with Corbin right now,” Lovullo said. “This is a tough day to get this news. But we’ll find a way to rally around him, play hard for him all year long. … It’s a long road, and it takes time for him to heal and recover. And he will. He’ll be great for the Arizona Diamondbacks, I’m convinced of it.”
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