Baltimore Orioles Ace Named Top Free Agent of 2024–25 Offseason

The Baltimore Orioles have a chance to lose the right-hander due to how good he's been.

Aug 28, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Corbin Burnes (39) delivers to the plate in the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles have had an ugly past two months, and it might only get worse in the foreseeable future. A half-game behind the New York Yankees in the American League East, it's a miracle that the Orioles are currently in the position they're in.

Factor in all of the injuries they've dealt with and below-average play at times, Baltimore can't complain about how things have played out.

The struggles for the Orioles have been on both sides of the baseball. Even some of their top players aren't playing how they typically do, including right-handed pitcher Corbin Burnes. 

Burnes looked to be a real threat to win the American League Cy Young Award before the All-Star break but has struggled mightily since. He's allowed 14 earned runs over his past three starts, a very concerning sign as Baltimore heads into the postseason.

However, this could help the Orioles in the next few months. Due to his struggles, teams could be hesitant to give him the type of money he's looking for in free agency.

Baltimore will hope for him to pitch better throughout the next few weeks heading into the postseason and in October, as they'll need him if they want to win a World Series.

Barring anything drastic happening, he should be just fine this winter.

R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports named Burnes as one of the top free agents on the market, listing him at No. 2. However, he believes there are some concerning trends from the Orioles ace.

"Burnes has scuffled as of late, turning in poor starts against several potential playoff foes... We're not too worried about that; the more interesting, potentially ominous development we have our eyes on concerns the declining effectiveness of his cutter: opponents have both their best average (.263) and highest contact rate (over 83%) versus it since he made it his primary pitch in 2021. That explains why Burnes' strikeout rate has slipped for a fourth consecutive season, making him more dependent on managing contact. Burnes is still an above-average starter with a great track record, don't get us wrong, but the above trend is something that teams will have to assess before handing him a long-term deal this winter."

While it's been ugly recently, his track record should get him paid, which is all the California native has to worry about.

As for Baltimore, they should still expect to give up a good chunk of change if they want to keep him around. Despite the struggles in recent outings, he still owns a 3.23 ERA and has struck out 150 hitters in 164 1/3 innings pitched.