Burnes: Arbitration hearing 'definitely hurt' relationship with Brewers

Corbin Burnes isn't happy with how the Milwaukee Brewers treated him during the arbitration process.

"There's no denying that the relationship is definitely hurt from what (transpired) over the last couple of weeks," Burnes said Thursday, according to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. "There's really no way of getting around that. ... Some of things that are said - for instance, basically put me at the forefront of the reason why we didn't make the postseason last year - that's something that probably doesn't need to be said."

The 2021 NL Cy Young winner will make $10.01 million this season after losing his arbitration hearing. The 28-year-old was seeking $10.75 million.

"The arbitration process always presents uncomfortable situations for both the club and player involved," Brewers general manager Matt Arnold said in a statement. "It is never easy to present a case against a member of the Brewers family."

Arnold added: "I'd like to reiterate that we view Corbin as one of the leaders of our franchise and value him as an elite talent in the game."

The Brewers made Burnes last-minute offers that added club or mutual options for 2024, McCalvy reported. However, the pitcher said the offers were "pretty poor."

Burnes posted a 2.94 ERA with 0.96 WHIP and a career-high 243 strikeouts over 202 innings (33 starts) for the Brewers in 2022. However, he gave up 28 earned runs over his final 10 appearances of the season. Milwaukee finished one game back of the Philadelphia Phillies for the final wild-card spot in the NL.

The two-time All-Star can test free agency after the 2024 campaign.