Ex-Reds GM urges trade involving $10,900,000 star amid Diamondbacks’ looming Corbin Burnes injury risk

Having made promising acquisitions over the offseason, the likes of Corbin Burnes and Josh Naylor, the Arizona Diamondbacks have surprisingly struggled this season.

With a 28-31 record, the Snakes are fourth in an extremely competitive NL West division and know they must improve their record drastically if they have any hope of making the postseason.

A key area of concern for the Diamondbacks this season has been their pitching staff, which has often been shaky. An already struggling pitching staff was hit with a huge injury setback on Sunday as ace Corbin Burnes left the field with an injury after pitching only 4.2 innings.

Speaking about what the Diamondbacks could do to bolster their pitching arsenal in case of a long-term injury to their ace, former Cincinnati Reds GM Jim Bowden proposed a strategy involving first baseman Josh Naylor.

"The Diamondbacks are 28-31, and they don't have the pitching to come back. Corbin Burnes is their best pitcher. If Corbin Burnes needs Tommy John or is out for the season and needs some kind of surgery, they [Dbacks] are screwed." Jim Bowden said, via 'Foul Territory' on Monday.

"What do you do? You take Josh Naylor, who's a free agent at the end of the year, you call Seattle and ask if they want a first baseman who can hit and drive in runs. That's kind of how I'd do it"

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Having signed a one-year, $10.09 million contract with Arizona ahead of the 2025 season, Naylor is set to enter free agency in the winter, and it may be in the D-backs' best interest to offload him if they get a valuable piece for their pitching staff in return.

Why losing Corbin Burnes is tragic for the Diamondbacks

Though injury to any player is extremely unfortunate, Corbin Burnes, the ace of the Diamondbacks' staff, suffering what appeared to be elbow discomfort is extremely concerning news for fans.

Boasting a 3-2 record with a 2.66 ERA and 63 total strikeouts, Burnes is far and away the team's most consistent pitcher, with seasoned veterans such as Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly appearing struggling this year.

Washington Nationals v Arizona Diamondbacks - Source: Getty

Fanns will be hoping and praying that Burnes' MRI scan, which is scheduled for Monday, provides some positive news.

About the author

Raghav Mehta is a baseball journalist at Sportskeeda awaiting results for a Bachelor's in Journalism from Delhi University. He enjoys highlighting the key battles between players at different stages of the game and analyzing the decisive moments upon which they hinge.

One of Raghav's favorite moments, which underscores this, was the Shohei Ohtani vs. Mike Trout clash in the 2023 WBC, where two of baseball's best players faced off against each other in the 9th inning. With the score 3-2 to Japan, Shohei eventually got the strikeout, which was absolute cinema.

Raghav is a Baltimore Orioles fan and is enjoying watching such an exciting young team compete at the top in a very competitive division.

Raghav has loved watching sports for as long as he can remember and realized he was pretty decent at writing his thoughts down at around the age of 14. Combining the two meant he had something he would enjoy doing every day, and he had identified that well before going to college.

Aside from work, Raghav enjoys playing sports, working out and watching movies.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash