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 signed a $210 million, six-year deal in January — abruptly left a game against the Nationals with right elbow pain.
Now he’s set to undergo Tommy John surgery 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 currently have 14 pitchers on the injured list — including starters Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki and Tony Gonsolin.
Snell has made just two starts this season because of injuries after signing a $182 millon, five-year deal in the offseason.
The difference is the Dodgers seem to have nearly unlimited money 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 $85 million, five-year deal. 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 released him in 2023 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 signed a $25 million, one-year deal with a vesting option for 2025. Rodriguez was added on an $80 million, four-year deal.
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 needed Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career, 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.”
MLB ROUNDUP: CHRIS SALE WHIFFS 11 BREWERS; BRAVES END SKID
Chris Sale allowed one run over seven-plus dominant innings and the visiting Atlanta Braves hit three homers to snap a seven-game losing streak with a 7-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday.
Matt Olson and Eli White each hit a two-run homer and Ronald Acuna Jr. belted a solo homer for the Braves, who had lost 14 of their previous 17 games.
Sale (4-4) allowed five hits, struck out a season-high 11 and walked two. Atlanta’s Ozzie Albies singled in the sixth and eighth innings, giving him 1,000 career hits and extending his career-high on-base streak to 24 games.
Milwaukee has lost three of its last four games, scoring just one run total in the three defeats. Aaron Civale (1-2) yielded two runs on five hits in 4 2/3 innings.
Diamondbacks 8, Mariners 4 (11 innings)
Josh Naylor hit a walk-off grand slam with one out in the 11th inning as Arizona recovered from a blown lead in the ninth for a victory over Seattle in Phoenix.
Naylor’s third hit of the game, the blast off Carlos Vargas (1-5), allowed the D-backs to break a three-game losing streak. Jalen Beeks (2-0) earned the win.
The Mariners erased a four-run deficit in the ninth on RBI singles from Donovan Solano and Cole Young and a two-run homer from Dominic Canzone, recalled from Triple-A Tacoma earlier in the day,
Phillies 4, Cubs 3 (11 innings)
Brandon Marsh’s RBI single capped a two-run, 11th-inning rally as host Philadelphia rallied to top Chicago.
Otto Kemp recorded the first three hits of his major league career for the Phillies, who had lost their previous five games. Nick Castellanos also had three hits as Philadelphia handed Chicago its fourth loss in six games.
After the Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong doubled home a run off Carlos Hernandez (1-0) in the top of the 11th, J.T. Realmuto began the bottom of the frame with a game-tying single off Daniel Palencia (0-2). Three batters later, Marsh followed with a walk-off hit off the base of the left-center-field wall.
Pirates 10, Marlins 3
Adam Frazier and Andrew McCutchen each had three hits and an RBI, and Bryan Reynolds had two hits including a bases-clearing triple to help host Pittsburgh top Miami.
The Pirates extended their season-high winning streak to four in a row, and their run total matched their season high. Every starter in Pittsburgh’s lineup had at least one hit. Pirates reliever Caleb Ferguson (2-0) threw two perfect innings.
The Marlins got a homer from Otto Lopez but lost for the seventh time in games. Eury Perez (0-1), in his first start since undergoing Tommy John surgery in April 2024, allowed two runs in 4 1/3 innings.
Reds 7, Guardians 4
Jake Fraley socked a solo homer in a three-hit game while Wade Miley earned his first victory in nearly two years as visiting Cincinnati beat Cleveland to claim the season series between the in-state rivals.
Miley (1-0) worked five innings, allowing three runs on five hits in his second appearance since joining the team on Wednesday following his recovery from Tommy John surgery performed in May 2024. Emilio Pagan tossed a scoreless ninth inning for his 16th save.
Bo Naylor homered and singled for the Guardians, who took their fourth loss in five games. Luis L. Ortiz (3-7) surrendered four runs on nine hits in 4 2/3 innings.
Blue Jays 5, Cardinals 4 (10 innings)
Alejandro Kirk went 4-for-5 with a homer, and his RBI double lifted visiting Toronto past St. Louis.
Jonatan Clase hit a game-tying homer in the ninth inning for the Blue Jays, who won for the 10th time in 12 games. Yariel Rodriguez (1-0) earned the victory despite blowing an eighth-inning lead, and Jeff Hoffman pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the 10th for his 16th save.
Ivan Herrera hit a go-ahead, three-run homer for the Cardinals in the eighth inning. However, Ryan Helsley served up Clase’s tying homer in the ninth before Phil Maton (0-2) permitted Kirk’s decisive hit in the 10th.
Rays 10, Red Sox 8 (11 innings)
Jake Mangum went 4-for-6 with two RBIs for Tampa Bay to upend host Boston in the opener of a three-game series.
After Junior Caminero drew a bases-loaded, full-count walk off Red Sox reliever Zack Kelly (1-3), Mangum beat out an RBI infield single that delivered an insurance run and helped Massachusetts native Ian Seymour (1-0) earn a win in his major league debut.
Yandy Diaz and Jonathan Aranda had two hits apiece for the Rays. Red Sox shortstop went 0-for-4 with an RBI groundout in his big-league debut. Ceddanne Rafaela, Romy Gonzalez and Trevor Story all had three hits for Boston.
Angels 7, Athletics 4
Yusei Kikuchi allowed one hit over 7 1/3 shutout innings and Jo Adell homered and had three RBIs as Los Angeles remained perfect against the Athletics with a win in Anaheim, Calif.
Mike Trout had two RBIs and Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel each drove in one to help the Angels win for the fifth time in the past seven games. Los Angeles is 5-0 against the Athletics this season.
JJ Bleday and rookie Max Muncy hit two-run homers for the Athletics, who lost for the 22nd time in the past 26 games. Athletics rookie center fielder Denzel Clarke made another spectacular grab, this time taking a homer away from Schanuel.
Dodgers 8, Padres 7 (10 innings)
Andy Pages’ RBI double snapped a 10th-inning tie and lifted visiting Los Angeles to a win over San Diego.
Pages laced a 1-1 pitch from Wandy Peralta (3-1) to the left field wall, scoring Max Muncy, the automatic runner to start the inning. Tommy Edman added a run-scoring single off second base to provide a cushion.
Freddie Freeman finished with three of the Dodgers’ 12 hits, while Pages and Edman each added two. Manny Machado was the only San Diego batter with two hits, while teammate Tyler Wade hit a three-run triple. Jackson Merrill’s 10th-inning RBI double wasn’t enough.
