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The Arizona Diamondbacks' season could be hanging by a thread.
Corbin Burnes, who inked a $210 million contract with the D-backs in December, left his last start Sunday with right elbow inflammation. The team has yet to come forward with a more specific diagnosis or timetable for the ace's return, but they could be preparing for the worst possible outcome.
During FOX Sports' MLB coverage Monday night, insider Ken Rosenthal joined the broadcast to tackle a handful of headlines from across the league. He started off by addressing Burnes' injury, and what it could mean to a 28-31 Arizona squad moving forward.
"If Burnes is out, they're likely looking at – I think – becoming a seller," Rosenthal said. "And who to they have to sell? Well Zac Gallen is a potential free agent, Merrill Kelly the same."
Rosenthal also mentioned first baseman Josh Naylor as another pending free agent who could get moved if Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick is looking to hack away at a franchise-record $181 million payroll.
Let’s check in with @Ken_Rosenthal for some updates around the league:
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) June 3, 2025
▫️ Who could the Dbacks trade if they become sellers this season?
▫️ The Royals calling up Jack Caglianone
▫️ When could Mookie Betts return to the Dodgers lineup? pic.twitter.com/5IsNVJLGJ2
Burnes is 3-2 with a 2.66 ERA, 1.166 WHIP and 2.1 WAR through 11 starts this season, making the four-time All-Star and former Cy Young winner the Diamondbacks' most productive starter in 2025.
Kelly has also been enjoying a solid campaign thus far, going 5-2 with a 3.78 ERA, 1.058 WHIP and 1.3 WAR through 12 starts. That 36-year-old righty carries a $7 million salary this season.
As for Gallen, who placed top-five in NL Cy Young voting in 2022 and 2023, he has come out of the gates ice cold. Through 12 appearances, the $13.5 million right-hander is 3-7 with a 5.54 ERA, 1.395 WHIP and 0.3 WAR.
Still, plenty of teams would presumably covet the 29-year-old former All-Star on the trade market.
Arizona doesn't have the high-level one-through-five rotation to survive multiple losses due to either injury or trade, so any major move would effectively signal the front office punting on the season. Brandon Pfaadt has an ERA over 5.00, Eduardo Rodriguez has an ERA over 7.00 and Jordan Montgomery is out for the year after undergoing Tommy John surgery this spring.
Less than two months remain until the trade deadline, but the sooner the Diamondbacks look to trade a starting pitcher, the more they could get back in return.
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Astros' playoff push dealt significant blow
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Mock Trade Sends Suns' Dillon Brooks to Lakers for $66 Million Duo
The Phoenix Suns are set to enter next season with an almost completely different roster than what they had last season after making major changes to it this offseason. Of course, the Suns broke apart their star trio of Devin Booker, Keivn Durant and Bradley Beal as they traded Durant to the Houston Rockets and bought out Beal’s contract, allowing him to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers. Now Booker is the only remaining star from their big three and he is set to be the centerpiece of Phoenix’s future after they signed him to a massive contract extension this summer. For the Suns, they have done a solid job of building a younger roster as they landed Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and Mark Williams via trades and also selected Khaman Maluach, Rasheer Fleming and Koby Brea in the 2025 draft. While the Suns have made some major moves this offseason, more could be on the way before the start of next season as multiple players continue to be in trade rumors. Suns predicted to send Dillon Brooks to Lakers With this in mind, SB Nations’ Jacob Rude recently released a mock trade that would see the Suns send Brooks to the Los Angeles Lakers for two players. In the trade, the Suns would send Brooks to the Lakers in exchange for Gabe Vincent and Maxi Kleber. This would be an interesting trade for both teams involved and one that does not make a ton of sense for the Suns to make. Of course, the Suns could look to trade Brooks at some point before next season’s trade deadline as they may try to add more young talent to their roster but to swap him for two veterans who struggled last season does not make a ton of sense for Phoenix. For the Lakers, adding Brooks to their roster would be a massive upgrade after losing Dorian Finney-Smith in free agency as the veteran forward would give them a solid scorer and great defender alongside Luka Doncic and LeBron James. Despite this, the Suns would likely want more in return in a potential trade for Brooks that would likely require Los Angeles to include draft capital and a young player. Because of this, it is highly unlikely that the Suns would consider this offer for Brooks, especially before he even suits up for their franchise.
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The Dallas Cowboys receiver room right now is giving head coach Brian Schottenheimer and the personnel department a lot of headaches - but in a good way, if there is such a thing. Yes, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens are top of the pile, but behind them, it is rather jumbled. KaVontae Turpin could easily be seen as the third receiver, so too Jalen Tolbert. But behind them are Jonathan Mingo, Jalen Brooks, Ryan Flournoy, and Traeshon Holden. Will the Cowboys carry five receivers? Or six? Either way, players are going to miss out and might even land on the practice squad. You can see the crowd in the new depth chart released on Tuesday ... And for offensive coordinator Klayton Adams, he is loving the competition. ... at receiver (and beyond) ... “It's been fun to watch that group," Adams said. "That's really what you're trying to build in every room is a lot of really difficult decisions for the personnel guys and the coaching staff and incredible amounts of competition. So that being what we want this team and organization to be 100% about is competition, that's our calling card, is what the receiving room is doing right now, and making it very difficult for people to figure out who's going to be what number, whatever. I love it, I think it's great." For most, it is Turpin and Tolbert occupying the third and fourth receiver spot (in any order), with Mingo and then possibly Brooks making up the group as part of special teams. Still, that will mean Flournoy and Holden will be the ones to miss out, which is why the next two weeks of practice and the preseason games are going to be vital to the final outcome of the room. Who will see their stock rise and who will fall? Schottenheimer wanted competition, and when it comes to the receiver room, boy, he got it.
Oklahoma QB denies sports gambling allegations after suspicious screenshots emerge
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