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."
