The Los Angeles Dodgers secured their eighth World Series title in franchise history on Wednesday night after coming back from a 5-0 deficit to beat the Yankees 7-6 in Game 5.
Dave Roberts’ club won the series 4-1 in mostly dominant fashion, led by the efforts of World Series MVP Freddie Freeman and a pitching staff that held the Bronx Bombers to seven total runs in the series’ first three games.
On Wednesday night, a big-name MLB free agent, starting pitcher Corbin Burnes, caught attention online after his response to the Dodgers’ championship.
Burnes, who rarely interacts on X, simply posted three eyeball emojis in response to the official MLB account announcing the Dodgers are 2024 World Series champions.
The repost was viewed over 1.3 million times in its first 12 hours on the platform.
Burnes is an unrestricted free agent for 2025 has been predicted to sign a new contract for as much as seven years,$255 million, according to Bleacher Report. The Athletic’s Jim Bowden foresees a seven-year, $247 million deal, while Spotrac gives Burnes a market value of $180 million over six years.
The 30-year-old ace and his one-year, $15.6 million contract were traded from the Milwaukee Brewers to the Baltimore Orioles in February.
In 2024, he carried his dominance over to the American League, posting a 2.92 ERA across 194.1 innings with 181 strikeouts and a 15-9 record. As a result, the 2021 Cy Young winner was named to his fourth All-Star team.
Unless Yankees ace Gerrit Cole elects to opt out of his current deal in the five days after the World Series, Burnes is considered the prized arm on the open market this year.
After dishing out over $1 billion worth of contracts last offseason, it remains to be seen whether the Dodgers will make a run at Burnes or another big-name starting pitcher to solidify their 2025 rotation, which is expected to get back Shohei Ohtani.