This story was excerpted from Steve Gilbert's D-backs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
Corbin Burnes took what he hopes is the final step in his 15-month rehab from Tommy John surgery Thursday morning in a bridge camp game on a back field at the Angels’ Spring Training facility at Tempe Diablo Stadium.
Burnes, who made a rehab appearance previously for Triple-A Reno, technically pitched three innings, but because it is a bridge camp game, both the second and third innings were extended to allow him to throw more pitches.
After throwing 43 pitches, Burnes said he threw another 10 or so in the bullpen simulating a fourth inning, or an "up-down" as it's referred to.
The ability to extend a couple of innings to get to a specific pitch count was exactly the reason the Diamondbacks wanted this outing to be in a more controlled environment rather than an affiliated Minor League game.
"It was good to get out there and get the pitches that we want to and everything," Burnes said. "The mark was to get to 50 at least, so we can go 60 to 65 next time."
The next time could very well come next week during the Diamondbacks’ three-game series with the Royals in Kansas City, though nothing has been determined yet.
"I'm ready," Burnes said. "We'll see what happens. I think the indication is that that's what we're doing, but obviously a lot can happen between now and then. So got to keep putting the work in and see what happens. Today, I think was, for me, a good last step if that's what it's going to be. Got swing and miss on cutters, sinkers, the curveball, the slider, the changeup. So I think we got a swing and miss on every pitch today, which is good. I was around the zone. For me, the thing is that I want to be able to command the baseball, and we were able to command it today, so it was good."
The Diamondbacks signed Burnes to a six-year, $210 million deal in December 2024, and he made 11 starts for them last year before injuring his elbow and undergoing Tommy John surgery last June.
At the time, Burnes' goal was to be back at the All-Star break this year, and he appeared to be on track for that before suffering a strain of his right teres major muscle in early June, which set back his rehab.
All and all, it's been a long process that he is looking forward to having come to an end.
"I think it's been more probably the last two, two and a half months that it's really been challenging," Burnes said. "Part of this, we've been going at it for a year and a half now without any breaks. So when we got the news that it was gonna be a little longer, I think it was initially tough, and then you start getting back into it, and you kind of start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, which is good, but it's been tough."
There was some chatter about his velocity being down by one or so mph during his start with Reno, but that was not a concern for Burnes, who touched 93 mph Thursday.
"I think the emphasis has always been making sure the ball is coming out right and has the right shape," Burnes said Wednesday. "Threw a bullpen [Tuesday], and I was up to I think 94 mph in the bullpen, so velocity is not an issue. I'm not worried about the velocity. I can throw 94 mph cutters down the middle, and they're not going to play near as good as 92 mph cutters on the edge. So I got to make sure I'm at a point where I can get outs in the big leagues, not necessarily put up numbers on the radar."