Brewers Have Monumentally Botched the Corbin Burnes Situation
Corbin Burnes and the Milwaukee Brewers just went through contentious arbitration battle the 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner lost. It's safe to say, he isn't happy about it. On Thursday, he admitted his relationship with the franchise has been damaged by the ordeal.
Burnes and his reps were asking for $10.75 million in arbitration, while Milwaukee countered with an offer of $10.01 million. The arbiter ruled in favor of the Brewers. Burnes claims it wasn't losing the case that bothered him so much, but what the Brewers said while trying to defend their side. Basically, they pissed off one of MLB's best pitchers in a battle over less than $1 million.
Here's what he had to say about it:
“There’s no denying that the relationship is definitely hurt” — Corbin Burnes pic.twitter.com/3Kjdh211dC
— Todd Rosiak (@Todd_Rosiak) February 16, 2023
After those comments the Brewers immediately launched into damage control with general manager Matt Arnold issuing the following statement:
Brewers GM Matt Arnold put out a statement after Corbin Burnes’ comments this morning.
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) February 16, 2023
“The arbitration process always presents uncomfortable situations for both the club and player involved. It is never easy to present a case against a member of the Brewers family.” [1/3]
Matt Arnold: “Corbin is a major contributor to the organization both on and off the field, and we look forward to another outstanding season from him in 2023.” [end]
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) February 16, 2023
During his five seasons with the Brewers, Burnes is 35-19, with a 3.21 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP and 670 strikeouts in 515.2 innings pitched. He's been dominant over the past three seasons, especially in 2021 when he won his Cy Young award. In that season he went 11-5 with a 2.43 ERA, a 0.94 WHIP and 234 strikeouts in 167 innings. In 2022, the 28-year-old led the NL in strikeouts with 243 in 202 innings.
Burnes will hit free agency after the 2024 season. If the Brewers had intentions of keeping him long term, a squabble over $700,000 seems incredibly petty. Burnes is the type of star you keep happy no matter what. This seems like major mismanagement by the franchise.