This story was excerpted from Steve Gilbert’s D-backs Beat newsletter. This week's edition was handled by MLB Pipeline's Jesse Borek. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
PHOENIX -- Since May 2021, there had been one certainty surrounding Corbin Burnes: he was going to take the ball every fifth day.
Alarm bells rang during the past week when the D-backs’ new ace -- who inked a six-year, $210 million contract this offseason -- flew home from the club’s most recent road trip to receive a cortisone injection for a balky right shoulder. It marked the first time in an eight-year big league career (and nearly 1,000 regular-season innings) that the right-hander needed one to alleviate soreness that he says crops up annually in the early-season haze.
“I’m a guy who likes to pride myself on making my turn and I've done it for the past 5 years, so personally, it took a lot to miss that one [on Monday],” Burnes said. “I didn't know what to do with myself. A lot of just watching baseball on TV and not something I'm really accustomed to doing, so it's good to be back at the top step [of the dugout].
“Definitely was different sitting on the bench knowing that you're supposed to be out there. So I'm glad that I'm feeling better and don't have to do that again on Saturday.”
The D-backs -- and Burnes -- maintain that the 30-year-old will be all systems go for Saturday. He played catch Tuesday and reported no ill effects, which paved the way for a bullpen session Wednesday.
It’s a small sample size, but Burnes has uncharacteristically dealt with walks at an advanced clip this season. His 4.7 walk per nine innings rate would be the highest of not only his Major League career, but would eclipse any mark he posted in college or the Minors.
Fortunately for the D-backs, even amidst a hellacious run of injuries to key relievers, they were able to slide Ryne Nelson back into the rotation for a spot start Monday. They got what was equivalent to a Burnes-ian outing from Nelson and relievers José Castillo and Juan Morillo, all against a Mets lineup that ranks in the Top 5 in the National League in nearly every major offensive category.
But Saturday marks Burnes’ first taste of the Dodgers/D-backs rivalry. Chase Field figures to be rocking. It’s the type of setting -- and series -- that leads a club to investing in a bona fide ace.
Yeah, did it suck I didn't get to pitch [on Monday]? Yes, but I've got more value to the team skipping a start and making sure I'm healthy for the rest of the year than continuing to push through and have something pop up where I miss two or three months,” Burnes said. “So there's always kind of that bigger picture when you're talking about it.”