It’s being said that the Giants “lost” the Corbin Burnes sweepstakes after the 2021 Cy Young winner opted to sign with the Arizona Diamondbacks late Friday night.

While it certainly stings that Burnes opted to sign in the Giants’ division and reportedly turned down more money from the Giants in the process, I think viewing the pitcher’s signing elsewhere as a defeat is the exact wrong way to look at it.

This is a win for the Giants.

Burnes signed a six-year contract that’s really a two-year deal for the one-time Brewers and Orioles ace, as he has an opt-out after the 2026 season.

That’s a long, fully guaranteed term for the Diamondbacks and an easy exit for the player.

Let Arizona deal with all of that. The Giants should feel lucky he declined.

Related Articles

Kurtenbach: Three Stars of the Week — Can nostalgia sell (or win) for the SF Giants?

Kurtenbach: A month into Buster Posey’s tenure, these are the same ol’ SF Giants

Kurtenbach: Buster Posey and the SF Giants are winging it

SF Giants hiring Buster Posey to lead baseball ops looks desperate

Because it’s downright amazing that starting pitchers — be they great or something else — have this kind of negotiating power. No position in sports is more injured and, frankly, more replaceable than the starting pitcher. Hell, barring a rule change, I’m not even sure if the role of “starting pitcher” will exist in baseball in six years, when Burnes’ contract expires.

We’ve seen the market for running backs—often injured and generally replaceable—crater in the NFL, with exceptions made for players like Christian McCaffrey and Saquon Barkley. (In the case of the former, that immediately looked foolish.)

Yet, multiple bidders were offering Burnes $1 million per start (in a best-case scenario).

But when has a long-term, big-money deal ever worked out for the team signing it?

I’ll give you a moment to think really long and hard about it.

Carlos Rodón had a 6.85 ERA in 2023 after signing a six-year deal with the Yankees from the Giants.

Jacob deGrom signed a five-year, $185 million deal with the Rangers that same offseason. He’s made nine starts for them since.

Aaron Nola signed for seven years and $172 million with the Phillies. He followed it up with a 4.46 ERA.

Maybe Gerrit Cole’s nine-year, $324 million deal has worked out. You can ask Yankees fans about that.

I can tell you that David Price and Stephen Strasburg’s deals didn’t. Max Scherzer’s mega-deal with the Nats was hairy at the end. And remember when Justin Verlander signed with the Mets? That was a fun few months. C.C. Sabathia faded, hard, in the final four years of his big Yankees contract. Cole Hamels was traded twice on his eight-year deal, and Felix Hernandez faded harder, posting a 5.42 ERA in his final three seasons (and 60 games) with Seattle.

Those are just the recent deals. I’m not even including Mike Hampton. But you get the idea.

And sure, there are examples of mega-deals going right. Or at least the downsides outweighed by the upside. But there are too many cautionary tales to count.

Burnes might be one of the rare pitchers that’s an exception to the rule.

But probably not.

While I will never question the depth of the Giants’ pockets, there is only so much money that can be allocated to the roster, and I’m firmly of the belief that the money that would have been spent on Burnes is better used on a position player (or two) who can at least provide daily impact.

I’m thinking about Pete Alonso at first base — he’s projected to land a deal in the ballpark of $25 million a year — and perhaps even Anthony Santander, who is in the $20 million range.

If the Giants were, in fact, offering close to $40 million a year for Burnes, for $5 million more annually, they could add a first baseman/designated hitter with the power to hit 40 homers (okay, 30) at Oracle Park and an outfielder who has 286 RBIs in the last three seasons.

Tell me that wouldn’t change the complexion of the Giants in 2025 and beyond. That’s a team I’d be far more excited to watch.

After all, we saw what loading up on “aces” did for the Giants last year. Lots of good that did them, huh?

Related Articles

SF Giants miss out on Corbin Burnes, who signs surprise deal with Diamondbacks

Could SF Giants upgrade at first base? Following eventful weekend, their options are growing slim

How Red Sox signings could bolster SF Giants’ odds of signing Corbin Burnes

Farhan Zaidi speaks publicly for first time since parting ways with SF Giants

MLB study: Max velocity, ‘stuff’ likely causing pitching injuries; rule changes should be considered

This isn’t to say that the Giants don’t need pitching, it’s merely to say that pitchers aren’t trustworthy and money like what Burnes received requires an availability that no one who whips their arm for a living can truly promise.

The Giants have better pitching prospects than they know what to do within the pipeline. Young arms might not be trustworthy, but at least they’re cheap.

The Giants lack hitters who require opposing teams to stop and take notice. I’d spend my money acquiring the latter until I can produce a few to replace them, which is probably going to take a while.

And by the time it happens (if it happens), what will starting pitchers be? Someone who goes four or five innings? That’s worth a million dollars an appearance?

Maybe.

But it sure seems like that money could be more prudently spent elsewhere—maybe on two different pitchers, Alonso, and/or Santander.

Now the Giants have the chance to make those moves.

Because the mistake wouldn’t have been signing Burnes — you want to overpay someone, go to town. You could do worse than Burnes, for sure.

The mistake would be not spending the money earmarked for Burnes on other players that can help your ball club.

There are still plenty of those players available.