SF Giants, Blue Jays considered frontrunners from last remaining ace on the market

Do the SF Giants have one more big move left this offseason? Mark Feinsand of MLB.Com believes that could be the case as the attention now turns to Corbin Burnes. Feinsand lists the Giants and Toronto Blue Jays as the frontrunners for the 2021 Cy Young winner.

SF Giants, Blue Jays considered frontrunners from last remaining ace on the market

On the other hand, the Boston Red Sox are also preparing an offer for Burnes according to Chris Cotillo and Sean McAdam of MassLive. Burnes' market is expected to move quickly now that both Blake Snell and Max Fried are off of the board.

Snell joined the Los Angeles Dodgers at the end of November, whereas Fried has reportedly agreed to an eight-year, $218 million pact with the New York Yankees, per Jeff Passan of ESPN. The price for starting pitching has been exorbitant this offseason, paving the way for Burnes to land a huge payday in free agency.

Feinsand believes that Burnes could net a deal of $240 million this winter. That will be a steep price to pay but the four-time All-Star has been a durable rotation ace for the past several seasons. Burnes is coming off of a strong 2024 campaign in which he posted a 2.92 ERA in 32 starts for the Baltimore Orioles.

It represented the third-straight year in which he threw at least 190 innings and made at least 32 starts. The Giants along with the Blue Jays and Red Sox could use that type of durability. In particular, the Giants have Logan Webb and Robbie Ray atop the rotation. Jordan Hicks, Hayden Birdsong, and Kyle Harrison follow but there will likely be workload restrictions for these three in 2025. The Giants need some rotation innings to bridge the gap.

On a different note, Burnes is local to California and attended Saint Mary's College before being drafted in the fourth round of the 2016 draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. The Giants do have a geography advantage for what that is worth.

We looked at why the Blue Jays might be an unlikely landing spot for Burnes given that they already have Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, and José Berríos all earning at least $18 million apiece in 2025. Can they afford another substantial contract in the rotation?

Perhaps, that assumption might be outdated as they missed out on the Juan Soto sweepstakes. They are eager (desperate?) to make a big splash in free agency and Burnes is the best name left on the board.