Fastball

Milwaukee Brewers Legend Made History with New Team in 2024

The Brewers traded Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles last offseason and then watched him hit a historic milestone with his new team.

Brady Farkas

Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Corbin Burnes (39) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Aug 10.
Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Corbin Burnes (39) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Aug 10. / Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images
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Last offseason, the Milwaukee Brewers traded franchise legend Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles. With Burnes headed into a contract year (2024), the Brewers didn't want to risk losing him for nothing.

In addition to trading Burnes, the Brewers also faced major attrition on the pitching staff. Brandon Woodruff was lost for the season to a shoulder issue while Robert Gasser and Wade Miley underwent Tommy John surgeries.

Despite it all, the Brewers still ended up in a familiar spot: The playoffs, after winning the National League Central. The move worked out well for Burnes as well, who became the ace of the Orioles staff and also led them to the playoffs too.

Burnes also made some personal history in 2024, as noted this week by Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

The ace entered the season with 870 career strikeouts in 709 1/3 innings. He reached 1,000 in the third inning on Aug. 4, when he struck out Lane Thomas for the second out. Burnes got there in 850 2/3 innings, the fourth-fewest innings to the mark among pitchers who started in at least 50% of their appearances by the time of their 1,000th strikeouts, according to Elias. He trails only Robbie Ray (810 IP), Yu Darvish (812 IP) and Blake Snell (820 2/3 IP).

In addition to recording his 1,000th strikeout, Burnes went 15-9 with a 2.92 ERA for the Orioles. A four-time All-Star and a former Cy Young winner, he's spent six years with the Brewers and one year with Baltimore

He's now the most prominent unsigned free agent remaining on the market.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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