The San Francisco Giants made a blockbuster signing earlier this month when they landed shortstop Willy Adames on a seven-year, $182 million contract. Adames may be the bat they need to finally make some noise in the National League West.
Now, they need help on the pitching side. More specifically, they need an ace to go along with right-hander Logan Webb.
Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer believes that the Giants are the best fit for former Cy Young Corbin Burnes and predicts he’ll sign in San Francisco.
“Burnes himself has one good reason to consider the Giants, and it has to do with Oracle Park. It’s a pitcher-friendly stadium in general, and especially so when it comes to keeping balls in the yard,” Rymer wrote.
“This wouldn’t matter as much if Burnes was still a top-tier strikeout artist, but those days have passed. Since 2021, he’s gone from the 97th to the 51st percentile in strikeout rate.
This is not to imply that Burnes is now a bad pitcher, but rather that he needs more advantages than he used to. And to this end, the Giants can offer him a good defense with a familiar face in addition to a huge home yard.”
Burnes would be reuniting with Adames, who was his teammate during his time with the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Giants would also be able to land the ace they need with Blake Snell having left for the Los Angeles Dodgers. This could be the perfect move to counter the Dodgers signing Snell.
Burnes went 15-9 with a 2.92 ERA during the regular season, making 32 starts and logging 194 1/3 innings. While his strikeouts were down, he still managed to fan 181 batters and even had a 3.4 WAR.
It will be interesting to see where the former Cy Young lands.
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