When the offseason began, the Dodgers’ biggest priority was to sign two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, and land at least one front-line starter. It’s still early in the process, but the team has already done both of these items.
Shortly after inking Ohtani to a record-setting 10-year, $700 million contract, the Dodgers acquired ace Tyler Glasnow from the Tampa Bay Rays. They quickly extended their new starting pitching to a 5-year, $136.6 million contract to keep him in Los Angeles for the foreseeable future.
The extension came together rather quickly between the two sides, but Glasnow said he didn’t care about making the most money. He wanted to be somewhere he felt comfortable, and being from Southern California, he was getting a chance to come back home.
But this extension did come as a surprise to some around the league. This includes Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Corbin Burnes, who the Dodgers have been linked with all offseason.
He appeared on the show Foul Territory and discussed this extension for Glasnow. Burnes was shocked at how quickly this all came together, and added he likely wouldn’t be interested in doing something similar.
“Yeah, I was kind of surprised. Obviously you first heard the rumors of the Glasnow trade then how quickly an extension came together. You just hear about extension talks being three-four months long, you know, year long before they eventually come together.”
It remains to be seen if the Brewers will trade Burnes this offseason, but if they do, he has made his stance clear. Burnes wants to enter free agency next winter to see what his real value is on the open market.
He is one of the better pitchers in the game today, so it’s a fair desire from the right-hander. Burnes didn’t completely shut the door on an extension if he were to be moved, but said that he would need to be blown away by the deal.
Burnes is represented by MLB super-agent Scott Boras, and his clients typically don’t sign extensions before free agency. This could be why the Dodgers went after Glasnow instead of Burnes this winter, but we could still see Burnes be moved.
With Glasnow in the mix now, L.A. may feel more comfortable getting someone like Burnes on a one-year contract. They still have some work to do the rest of the offseason, but they are off to a great start.
Photo Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
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