Diamondbacks News: Former reliever signs with Astros, Corbin Burnes, Roki Sasaki

The Arizona Diamondbacks made waves throughout the baseball world when they signed Corbin Burnes to a franchise-record $210 million contract. With Burnes anchoring the top of their rotation, the Diamondbacks have firmly placed themselves in the playoff contender category.

The team announced the deal Monday and the NL West arms race officially heated up. Get ready for a wild 2025 season.

After signing him to a record deal, the question for Burnes is if he's their Opening Day starter over Zac Gallen. Gallen has started the last two Opening Days, becoming the sixth pitcher in franchise history with such honors. The answer to that question might not be known until the middle of March.

Corbin Burnes' jersey number with Arizona Diamondbacks revealed

Burnes is already listed on the Diamondbacks 40-man roster with his jersey number of 39. That is the same number he's worn throughout his career with the Milwaukee Brewers and Baltimore Orioles. Five other Diamondbacks players have donned the number 39 in franchise history: catcher Chad Moeller, right-handed pitcher Mike Fetters, left-handed pitcher Dana Eveland, right-handed pitcher Max Scherzer, and right-handed pitcher Bryan Shaw.

While Shaw is the last player to wear the number, first base coach extraordinaire Dave McKay has held it since he joined the organization in 2014. McKay has been in charge of the team's baserunning and outfield defense since the 2014 season, surviving two general manager and manager changes. His impact on the team has been evident over that stretch, with the coach receiving a lot of credit in the team's success in his two specialties over the years from the media.

Perhaps we'll find out soon how Burnes was able to snag the number from the longest-tenured major league coach in the organization.

Former Diamondbacks World Series reliever signs with Astros

Christian Walker isn't the only former Diamondback going to Houston. Late Monday night, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that the Astros have signed right-hander Miguel Castro to a minor-league pact.

Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 Houston adds that the deal would pay Castro $1.5 million plus incentives if he makes the major league roster.

Castro, who just turned 30, signed a one-year deal with a vesting option with the Diamondbacks before the 2023 season. He pitched to a 4.31 ERA in 75 appearances in his first season in Arizona. While the ERA doesn't look good on paper, it was also worth noting that produced scoreless outings in a strong 80% of his appearances (and 17 of his last 18). He contributed to their NLCS comeback against the Phillies, allowing just one run in 3 1/3 innings.

With the strong finish to the 2023 season, the Diamondbacks kept Castro for 2024. Everything went wrong, as his velocity dropped 2 MPH across the board early in the year before getting shelved for three months with right shoulder inflammation. In his absence, rookie right-handers Bryce Jarvis and Justin Martinez emerged as capable bullpen arms and led to Castro's release.

Assuming the velocity dip isn't permanent, the Astros have the potential for a high-upside reliever that can feature some of the nastiest raw stuff from a wiry 6-foot-7 frame. His size and long limbs create tough angles for hitters, who have to respect upper-90s velocity with a lot of movement. He's the type of arm Houston has had success getting more consistency out of.

Diamondbacks signing Roki Sasaki is unlikely, but they could be seeing him soon enough

With Burnes no longer in the market, Roki Sasaki becomes the next big free agent that everyone is watching. Sasaki is expected to sign between the start of the 2025 international period on January 15 and the end of his posting window on the 23rd. Arizona Sports insider and co-host of Burns & Gambo pretty much confirmed what everyone suspected, and that the likelihood the Diamondbacks would sign the Japanese star right-hander was nil.

Given some of the noise surrounding Sasaki, the likelihood he remains in the National League West is still pretty high. Of the seven teams that have reportedly conducted a meeting with the right-hander and his agent, Joel Wolfe, three of them are in the division. The San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers are seen as the two favorites, with MLB executives giving the Dodgers a slight edge over the Padres in their annual MLB Pipeline survey.

Regardless of which team Sasaki ultimately signs with, the Diamondbacks should be prepared to compete against him over the next six-plus seasons.