SF Giants reportedly have interest in four-time All-Star according to MLB insider

With Blake Snell off of the market, the SF Giants will need to turn their attention elsewhere. Mark Feinsand of MLB.Com reports that the Giants could still be shopping at the top of the market, saying that they "are believed to have significant interest in [Corbin} Burnes."

SF Giants reportedly have interest in four-time All-Star according to MLB insider

Burnes is coming off of another fantastic season as he posted a 2.92 ERA in 194.1 frames with the Baltimore Orioles while earning his fourth All-Star nod. The veteran hurler has pitched to a 3.19 ERA in seven seasons, including six with the Milwaukee Brewers and one with Baltimore.

Snell agreed to a five-year, $182 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier this week. This will include deferrals, so the average annual value of the contract will be less than the $36.4 million cap hit it appears on paper.

With that being said, Feinsand believes that Burnes will be in the market for a similar annual value as Snell and that the total value could exceed $200 million given that he just completed his age-29 season, whereas Snell was in his age-31 season in 2024.

That is a steep price to pay for a pitcher and long-term deals for pitchers do not always age all that well. There are only so many innings in a pitcher's arm and Burnes has carried a heavy workload, completing at least 160 innings in each of the past four seasons.

For what it is worth, the Giants need durability. They simply do not have that with the exception of Logan Webb and if there is one area that Burnes is clearly superior to Snell, it is that he can handle a heavier workload. Can you expect the same from him two or three years down the road?

I usually see rumors as a data point in a spectrum. Feinsand is pretty well connected and has been the first to report on signings or trades from time to time. Of course, there was a pretty egregious miss last offseason where he reported "It's all pointing to the Giants" with respect to the Shota Imanaga market. Shortly thereafter, Imanaga joined the Chicago Cubs on a two-year deal followed by three team options.

The Giants have conveyed that they are planning to operate more within a budget next season. If you read between the lines of what Buster Posey and Bob Melvin have said in recent interviews, they have both corroborated that story.

That said, Burnes is local to California, attended Saint Mary's College, and the Giants have a need for another durable pitcher. On paper, there is a fit and a need for the Giants. However, the Giants have conveyed that they will follow a different path to address that need.