Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Corbin Burnes says arbitration damaged his bond with team: "There’s no denying that the relationship is definitely hurt"
Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Corbin Burnes lost his salary arbitration case on Wednesday, and the entire affair left him downtrodden. The Brewers staff ace went head-to-head with the team over the matter of just under $750,000 between what he wanted and what the team wished to pay him.
The Brewers won the battle and will pay Burnes $10.01 million for 2023. However, there's going to be some make-up to do with their 28-year-old right-hander.
"There's no denying that the relationship is definitely hurt," Burnes told reporters after reporting to the Brewers' Spring Training facility in Phoenix, Arizona. "You learn your true value in the organization."
Every fear that going to an arbitration hearing against Corbin Burnes could harm his relationship with the Brewers was founded.
“There’s no denying that the relationship is definitely hurt from what [transpired],” Burnes said. https://t.co/Xv8DFyiKde
Corbin Burnes has truly come into his own as one of the top pitchers in the National League as he enters his sixth big-league season. He won the 2021 NL Cy Young Award after leading the majors with a 2.43 ERA, going 11-5 with 234 strikeouts.
Last season, he made his second straight All-Star Game appearance, going 12-8 with a major-league best of 33 starts and a league-high 243 strikeouts.
Yet, despite Burnes' exploits, he said the Milwaukee Brewers never attempted to come to a deal to avoid arbitration. The arbitration process can be a difficult one, as teams will generally make a player feel unwanted and unloved in their presentations to arbiters in order to win the case.
"Just as far as the whole thing, on our perspective and our end of it, it was more that we were just kind of disappointed with how it went," Burnes said. "So, that's unfortunate that ended up that way. It's one of those things that just at the end of the day, it was just kind of very eye-opening."
Corbin Burnes, Milwaukee Brewers have time to make up before free agency
Corbin Burnes is hurt right now, but the Milwaukee Brewers do have time to mend fences. Burnes is not eligible for free agency until 2025. However, that does mean that the two sides may very well be headed to arbitration again next season. Brewers general manager Matt Arnold hopes there are no long-lasting grudges held by Burnes:
"We want to be solution-based. We always want to try to get to a place where the player is comfortable, and also we respect the heck out of Corbin's right to push for what he believes is fair."