Some good news for the Cubs as their domestic Opening Day grows closer. New Diamondback, but familiar face to the Cubs, Corbin Burnes will not be starting against the Cubs in their series, per Bob Nightengale.

It’s good news for the Cubs as runs will certainly be at a premium at the beginning of the season and already proved to be when they faced the Dodgers in the MLB Tokyo Series earlier this month.

But a piece of good news matchup-wise for the Cubs offense has developed. The already star-studded starting rotation of the Arizona Diamondbacks will be a little weaker with Corbin Burnes now projected to make his debut for the Diamondbacks against the Yankees instead of the Cubs.

Burnes has been a thorn in the side of the Cubs for years, especially in his first 6 seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers. Burnes moved on from the Brewers in 2024 and joined the Orioles where they only had to face him once last season. The Cubs put up a 4-0 win in that outing and got the best of Burnes.

However, while with the Brewers the Cubs faced Burnes 16 times in NL Central matchups. Through those appearances, Burnes posted an impressive 3.26 ERA. While starting, the ERA gets even lower with a 3.19 ERA. In 10 starts versus the Cubs as a Brewer, Burnes posted 82 strikeouts and a 1.04 WHIP in 59.1 IP.

This news surely comes as welcoming after the lack of offense in Tokyo. The Cubs faced two elite pitchers across the Pacific in Yoshinobu Yamomoto and Rōki Sasaki and produced just 4 runs over two games. A worrying sign from a trend possibly carrying over from last year, but certainly nothing to panic over.

The series against the Diamondbacks will be crucial for the Cubs to show their offensive muscles and measure up against another expected playoff-contending team and not facing Burnes is something the Cubs and fans expect to take advantage of.