MLB team blasted for cheap handling of superstar pitcher

Corbin Burnes, one of Major League Baseball’s best pitchers and the National League Cy Young Award winner in 2021, has lost his arbitration fight with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweeted on Wednesday that “The Brewers have won their arbitration case against Corbin Burnes, per source. He will earn $10.01M this season rather than the $10.75M he filed for.”

The Brewers have won their arbitration case against Corbin Burnes, per source. He will earn $10.01M this season rather than the $10.75M he filed for.

— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) February 16, 2023

Baseball fans were highly critical of the Brewers for penny-pinching over less than $1 million with Burnes, one of the best pitchers in the game.

I do not like arbitration. They sat down in court and explained why their Cy Young winner doesn’t deserve the price of 12 Aaron Judge plate appearances and succeeded. https://t.co/cWlcNBqHDr

— Quinn (@QuinnSTLCards) February 16, 2023

Not gonna lie they may have won the case but lost Corbin Burnes in the process. So congrats? https://t.co/6aQrSpsoPG

— #TheJAKE (@JakerBrahney) February 16, 2023

Maybe now the state of Wisconsin will only hand the billionaire owners $289m instead of $290m for stadium renovations #mlb #stopgivingstatefundstoprivatebusiness #brewers https://t.co/CsU49TuFda

— Chicago F1 Host (@intothewall) February 16, 2023

https://twitter.com/WiscoClothingCo/status/1626031924287340546

That'll show 'em! https://t.co/FIQU4ORBn8

— Sawx South (@SawxSouth) February 16, 2023

Is it really worth it to argue over $750k especially when it comes time for contract negotiations? https://t.co/3fscylMgdO

— Doug Moore (@DMooreNFL) February 16, 2023

Prior to the ruling, Milwaukee general manager Matt Arnold issued a lengthy statement (per Adam McCalvy, MLB.com). In it, he praised Burnes but also pointed out that the Brewers had avoided arbitration with “10 out of 11 of our cases.”

Brewers GM Matt Arnold on Corbin Burnes and arbitration as the sides were awaiting a ruling: pic.twitter.com/aCbqt46c79

— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) February 16, 2023

Arbitration and contract negotiations are some of the most frustrating parts of sports. Executives, players and fans alike all say it, and it’s true. And it is admirable that the Brewers avoided arbitration with 10 of their 11 arbitration players. But going to arbitration with Burnes, by far the most important of those players, is not a good look.

To the average person, $750,000 is a lot of money. But given how much money teams and players make, it’s a laughably small amount of money to squabble over with one of the game’s top players.

Over the last three seasons, Burnes has posted a 2.62 ERA, 0.964 WHIP and struck out 11.9 hitters per nine innings. He also sandwiched his Cy Young Award season in 2021 with a sixth-place finish in 2020 and a seventh-place finish in 2022. And while there was no All-Star Game in 2020, he made the All-Star team in both 2021 and 2022. This is not the guy to fight with over such a small sum.

No, the Brewers aren’t the New York Yankees or Los Angeles Dodgers. They’re a small market team and operate under a much tighter budget than the league’s super spenders. Because of that, they were probably going to be fighting an uphill to keep Burnes after the 2024 season, when he becomes a free agent. But if there was any hope that he may stick around and give Milwaukee a hometown discount, this news won’t help.

[Mark Feinsand on Twitter, Adam McCalvy on Twitter]