Brewers’ Corbin Burnes appears intent on hitting free agent market in 2024

Major League Baseball

Updated Dec. 20, 2023 3:57 p.m. ET

Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Corbin Burnes, who has been at the center of MLB trade rumors this offseason, is a year away from free agency. Could he sign an extension after potentially being traded?

Fellow right-hander Tyler Glasnow was recently traded from the Tampa Bay Rays to the Los Angeles Dodgers. As part of the trade, Glasnow, 30, agreed to a five-year, $136.5 million extension with the Dodgers.

Burnes, however, appears to be intent on hitting the open market after the 2024 MLB season.

“Being in my shoes, being a year away from it [free agency], I think if a trade and extension type of deal came up, obviously every guy that gets this close to free agency wants to test the market to kind of see what your true dollar amount is, kind of see what teams really are in on you, so it would have to be something that would just absolutely I think blow you away to kind of get you away from testing the free agent market, being able to choose where you want to go because I think that’s kind of the one thing that every player in their career wants to get to,” Burnes said on Tuesday’s edition of “Foul Territory” about potentially signing an extension with a new team, if he were traded.

“Once you get that six years of service time, which for a lot of guys takes seven, eight, sometimes nine years to get to, you kind of get that chance to test the market and kind of see what your top dollar is.”

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Burnes is among the high-profile starting pitchers whose names have frequently appeared in trade rumors this offseason, with Dylan Cease (Chicago White Sox) and Shane Bieber (Cleveland Guardians) being among the others.

Burnes, 29, posted a 3.39 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 200 strikeouts and a 127 ERA+ across 193.2 innings (32 starts) last season. The year prior (2022), he led MLB with 243 strikeouts and won the National League Cy Young Award in 2021, when he posted a league-best 1.63 FIP and 2.43 ERA. Burnes is a three-time All-Star.

The Brewers are coming off a 92-70 season that saw them win the NL Central but get swept by the eventual NL-champion Arizona Diamondbacks in the wild-card round. Manager Craig Counsell left Milwaukee for the NL Central rival Chicago Cubs in November. Milwaukee promoted bench coach Pat Murphy to manager.

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