Ex-Brewers star Corbin Burnes suffers ‘major setback’ during rehab

Former Milwaukee Brewers Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes won’t be back for the Arizona Diamondbacks until at least late this season after a new injury sustained as he rehabs following Tommy John surgery.

Burnes won’t return until September at the earliest after suffering a teres major strain behind his right shoulder, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic said.

An MRI revealed the issue last week after he felt tightness while throwing live batting practice in Arizona, his first opportunity to throw BP since elbow surgery last year. Once healed, Burnes will have to restart his throwing progression from the beginning.

Burnes was initially targeting a return around the all-star break. He signed a six-year, $210 million deal with Arizona before last season but made only 11 starts before suffering the elbow injury. He had a 2.66 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 64 innings.

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Corbin Burnes during spring training at Salt River Fields on March 19, 2026, near Scottsdale.

Milwaukee traded Burnes, an all-star with the Brewers three straight years from 2021 through 2023, after the 2023 season in a deal that brought back Joey Ortiz and DL Hall from Baltimore.

In his one and only season with the Orioles, Burnes was again an all-star, posting a 2.92 ERA over 32 starts with 181 strikeouts in 194 innings. Burnes won the NL Cy Young in 2021 with a 2.43 ERA, the first Brewers pitcher so honored since Pete Vuckovich in 1982. That season, he struck out 234 batters in 167 innings, and he led the National League with 243 strikeouts over his 202 innings in 2022.

Both Burnes with the Orioles and the Brewers were eliminated in the first round of the 2024 postseason.

The Diamondbacks momentarily sit in second in the National League West with a 34-31 record, 7½ games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and a half-game ahead of the San Diego Padres in the standings.