In a major blow to the Arizona Diamondbacks’ season, star pitcher Corbin Burnes is expected to undergo season-ending surgery after exiting Sunday’s game early.
Per ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Burnes will have Tommy John surgery. The news was originally broken by Jose Romero of AZCentral Sports, who reported the surgery is scheduled for next week.
Burnes’ injury is a brutal beat for a Diamondbacks squad with a 31-31 record on the campaign in a highly-competitive NL West. The former NL Cy Young winner threw 64.1 innings this season to the tune of a 2.66 ERA and 1.07 WHIP, striking out 63 batters in the process.
To add insult to injury, Burnes recently signed a six-year, $210 million contract and is currently in the first year of that deal. While Tommy John surgery is no longer that death sentence for a player’s career it used to be, it’s certainly not ideal for the already 30-year-old pitcher. Once he goes under the knife, Burnes begins a long rehab process looking toward next season.
With their top starter now sidelined indefinitely, the direction the Diamondbacks take suddenly becomes very interesting. They have plenty of win-now pieces but are currently struggling to stay afloat at the .500 mark. Their pitching staff isn’t exactly deep, ranking 21st in WHIP and 24th in ERA, so a playoff push suddenly looks daunting without Burnes in the rotation.
