The Baltimore Orioles have finally swung a deal for a pitcher and it is a very good one!
According to reporting from both The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Milwaukee Brewers ace Corbin Burnes is heading to the Orioles.
Burnes will be a free agent after the 2024 season, but gives the Orioles one of the best pitchers in baseball. The right-hander won the NL Cy Young back in 2021 and has been one of the most consistent pitchers in the game ever since.
Last year, Burnes pitched to a 3.39 ERA across 32 starts and 193 2/3 innings pitched. He also struck out 200 batters, eclipsing the 200-strikeout mark for the third-straight season.
Adding Burnes to a rotation mix that already includes Kyle Bradish off a breakout year and Grayson Rodriguez, suddenly the Orioles have a great collection of talent atop their rotation. Factor in Tyler Wells, John Means and Dean Kremer and this rotation is deep as well.
According to Passan, the Orioles are sending the Brewers shortstop prospect Joey Ortiz and left-handed pitcher DL Hall.
Prior to this deal, Aram Leighton just ranked Ortiz as the No. 6 prospect in the Orioles farm system.
Ortiz appeared in 15 games with the Orioles last year, posting a paltry .448 OPS. However in Triple-A, Ortiz hit .321/.378/.507, with a .885 OPS in 88 games.
Now that the Brewers have traded Burnes, you have to wonder if they would consider dealing Willy Adames next, allowing Ortiz to become their starting shortstop. Otherwise he could factor into their infield mix at second base, where he would compete with Brice Turang.
Meanwhile Hall gives the Brewers a 25-year-old flamethrowing lefty who has a ton of upside. Across 19 1/3 innings pitched with the Orioles last year, Hall had a 3.26 ERA with 23 strikeouts. Along with Hall and Ortiz, the Brewers will also get the 34th overall pick in the upcoming MLB draft.
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