PHOENIX — Arizona Diamondbacks ace starting pitcher Corbin Burnes said he is targeting next July for a return to the mound after Tommy John Surgery cut his debut campaign with the club short.

Burnes was lost for the year after he walked off the mound with training staff on May 31, and the elbow surgery was performed in early June.

“We’re looking at probably sometime in July,” Burnes said on Monday. “Obviously it’s still early, so we don’t know what’s gonna happen as far as we start playing catch and getting the bullpens, that kind of stuff. I think we’re looking at sometime in July.

“Should have a somewhat normal spring training with some bullpens and stuff. That’s exciting for me just to feel somewhat normal in camp. But, that’s just a slow build up progression. But yeah, hopefully sometime in July.”

Burnes mentioned the All-Star break as a potential target, which he brought up earlier in the process. Tommy John surgery typically comes with a 12-18-month recovery, and the All-Star break would be 13 months from Burnes’ surgery.

He expects to start throwing a baseball again sometime in late November or early December. For now, it’s strength and conditioning work until he can get back into catch play.

Manager Torey Lovullo during the final week of the regular season mentioned Blake Walston, who had been the first Diamondbacks pitcher who underwent Tommy John surgery this year, began throwing. Lovullo noted that A.J. Puk, Burnes, Justin Martinez and Tommy Henry was the likely order in which they would begin their throwing progressions.

Burnes admitted that he expects to be frustrated in spring training when he can throw bullpens but won’t be able to ramp up as quickly as normal while he continues to heal.

For example, Baltimore Orioles starter Kyle Bradish underwent Tommy John surgery on June 19, 2024. He started throwing bullpens in April, made his first rehab start in July and returned to the Orioles in August. There’s no one-size-fits-all, but that’s a recent example of a procedure that occurred around a similar time in the season and the process it took to get back.

Burnes signed a six-year, $210 million deal with the Diamondbacks (opt-out after 2026), a stunning free agency development given the lack of smoke between the two sides.

Burnes wanted to play where he and his family resided, joining a Diamondbacks team with expectations to compete for a championship.

Burnes, a four-time All-Star, made 11 starts with a 2.66 ERA before the injury prematurely ended his season.

The Diamondbacks finished 80-82, missing the postseason by only three games despite injuries plaguing the pitching staff.

Burnes said it is difficult to look back on what could have been if the team stayed healthy.

“Looking at the amount of games we lost, whether it was late or some bad mistakes that really cost us there, but three more wins could have got us in,” Burnes said.

“It’s kind of crazy to think about everything we went through, the last two months to be in a position to possibly make the postseason — we played 160 meaningful baseball games — that’s something you can hang your hat on. But, I don’t think anyone in here is happy with how it ended, happy with how the season went.”