Baltimore Orioles Linked As Trade Partner for Corbin Burnes Replacement

The Baltimore Orioles losing in the Wild Card Round might just be the beginning of their losses.

Sep 18, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) reacts after third baseman Nolan Arenado (not pictured) completed an inning ending double play against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the third inning at Busch Stadium. / Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

There's disappointing, and then there's whatever the Baltimore Orioles showed in the postseason. Another year, another sweep, a major issue for this ball club as they're simply too talented to play at such a low level.

Simply put, the Orioles' offense failed them. For a group as good as they are, it's tough to figure out why they can't get going when it matters most.

At some point, they can't continue to call them growing pains. The Kansas City Royals are filled with inexperienced players, and they didn't roll over. They came to Baltimore and did what they needed to do.

Factor in this brutal showing with the fact that the Orioles might've had a better chance than ever to win a World Series because of Corbin Burnes' free agency, and it makes things even worse than they already are.

Burnes can't be too happy with this performance, especially after he left it all out on the mound in Game 1 and gave Baltimore every chance to win the ball game.

With him potentially being on the way out, where do the Orioles head? Is there a logical replacement for him?

They can only hope, as there's a reason why he's staring at a contract that'll likely hit $250 million in the offseason.

Christopher Kline of FanSided did his best to find someone who could come in and help, listing them as a potential trade partner for Sonny Gray.

"The Baltimore Orioles face an uphill battle to retain Cy Young candidate Corbin Burnes this winter. The 29-year-old could command north of $300 million in total, which has never been in the O's budget. New ownership can change that, and a deep postseason run might tempt Burnes to accept a discount, but Baltimore has a long way to go before we talk about their front office the same way we talk about the Mets front office... If the O's do miss out on a Burnes encore, it's only logical to hit the trade market in search of a viable replacement. Gray, too, has extensive October experience and he would bring a certain veteran calm to baseball's youngest World Series threat. "

Gray, who's had flashes of being elite, hasn't been the same caliber arm as Burnes has been throughout his career.

Still, he's only a year removed from posting a 2.79 ERA and 1.09 WHIP, which are very respectable numbers.

Whether they land someone like him or not, it'll be tough not to think about what could've been if Baltimore would've just taken care of business.