Baltimore Orioles New Ace Facing Massive Pressure in Contract Year

There is a lot of pressure on the shoulders of the Baltimore Orioles' new ace, but that's something he is not think about heading into his contract year.

When the Baltimore Orioles acquired Corbin Burnes in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers in the offseason, the expectation was that the former NL Cy Young winner would transform this young roster into true contenders.

A top-of-the-rotation starter was what this Orioles team was missing.

Burnes is projected to change that.

There are tons of expectations on the shoulders of the right-hander, especially when considering this is the last year on his contract before he tests free agency.

The better he plays and the more impactful he is on a contending team, the more likely he is to receive a monster deal on the open market.

Burnes isn't thinking about the pressure to perform or his future contract.

"The way I look at it, the last two years have been contract years as well, going into arbitration ... it's not really any different than it has been the last couple of years ... For me, I am always trying to be the best in the game. So, what everyone else's expectations are for me are probably nothing compared to what I expect of myself," he told Steve Melewski of MASN.

Baltimore would love to have the 29-year-old back.

Pairing him with Kyle Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez would give them one of the best top-three starters in all of baseball for the foreseeable future.

The issue comes from financials as just about everything does for the Orioles.

Burnes is expected to be one of the best starting pitchers on the open market when the season comes to an end and should have a number of suitors vying to sign him.

So for now, Baltimore is looking to maximize the guaranteed one year they have with him on their roster.

That will come down to developing relationships and getting more familiar with everyone on the roster, especially catcher Adley Rutschman.

"I think we're getting closer. It is one of those things you'd like to see within a week that you fit in perfectly, but it's one of those things that it will take time to build a relationship with everyone," the ace said.

It will be exciting to see one of the best pitchers in the league throwing in an Orioles uniform during 2024.

Hopefully he puts together a great year and helps his new team make a deep postseason run, with the chance of winning a championship.