FILE - Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Corbin Burnes (39) throws during a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds on Sept. 24, 2022, in Cincinnati. Two-time All-Star Corbin Burnes and the Milwaukee Brewers went to salary arbitration on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023, with the sides $740,000 apart. Burnes asked for a raise from $6.55 million to $10.75 million and the Brewers argued for $10.01 million during a hearing. A decision is expected Wednesday. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean, File)
Milwaukee Brewers ace Corbin Burnes made some strong comments about the franchise following the dispute around his arbitration.
Arbitration hearings have begun at the same time that spring training has begun. The Milwaukee Brewers and Corbin Burnes had their arbitration hearing earlier this week. According to the Associated Press, the three-person panel ruled in favor of the Brewers and against Burnes. Burnes was the winner of the National League Cy Young Award in 2021. In 2023, he will receive a salary of $10.01 million as opposed to the $10.75 million that he had requested.
Hearings during the arbitration process are not an enjoyable experience. Each side fights for the salary number that they filed, which typically involves the team explaining the player’s flaws and the reasons why he should be paid less than what he believes he is worth. On Thursday, Burnes talked about his upcoming arbitration hearing, during which he stated that there is “no denying that the relationship is definitely hurt” as a result of the process.
Burnes added that there were no discussions about an extension of a long-term contract; however, he stated that the team made a “pretty poor” two-year offer in the days leading up to the hearing, despite the fact that the offer was “pretty poor.”
According to one of our sources, the offer in question was not a brand-new business transaction but rather a club or mutual option. In any case, Burnes will not be eligible for free agency for another two years, which means that the Brewers would have gained nothing more than cost control over his remaining two years of arbitration with an additional year of service. Even though Burnes is currently listed as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers roster, there is a very good chance that the Brewers will deal him before the end of the trade deadline.
There are some arbitration hearings that do not result in negative feelings being shared between the team and the player. Burnes stated that the arbitration hearing made him angry, but it is unlikely that this will hasten his departure from Milwaukee. It is more likely that this story will end with his impending free agency and the possibility that the Brewers will trade him before they lose him for the price of a qualifying offer.
Burnes said, “You kind of find out your true value. You work hard for seven years in the organization and five years with the big league team, and you get in there and basically they value you much different than you thought you contributed to the organization.”
He added, “Honestly, it’s tough to hear, tough to take, but they’re trying to do what they can to win the hearing. But obviously I think there are other ways they could have gone about it. Be a little more respectful with the way they went about it.“
As Burnes is inching closer to free agency and it seems unlikely that the small-market Brewers will pony up for the nine-figure contract he will command on the open market, he was rumored to be a trade candidate during this offseason.
It appears likely that Milwaukee will deal Burnes in exchange for a significant prospect package at some point before free agency begins, similar to how they dealt Josh Hader the previous year. The Brewers finished the season with an 86-76 record, falling one game short of the Philadelphia Phillies, who went on to win the National League championship, to claim the third and final wild-card spot.
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