Baltimore Orioles Predicted to Lose Ace Corbin Burnes to Boston Red Sox

The Baltimore Orioles were recently predicted to lose Corbin Burnes to the Boston Red Sox in free agency.

Sep 8, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles pitcher Corbin Burnes (39) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. / Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles have been very busy so far this offseason, but they have yet to address their biggest need. 

It was another solid season for the Orioles in 2024. The franchise was able to make the playoffs for the second straight season, but unfortunately suffered another early exit in the playoffs. 

Last offseason, they made a big splash when they were able to acquire Corbin Burnes from the Milwaukee Brewers. This was a deal that worked out well for Baltimore, as it provided them with the ace that they have been searching for. 

Burnes lived up to the hype for the Orioles, as he totaled a 15-9 record and 2.92 ERA. However, he is now a free agent, leaving Baltimore without an ace. Due to his success, the right-hander came into the offseason as arguably the best pitcher available, and certainly the best right-handed pitcher. 

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently predicted that Burnes would stay in the American League East, but sign a massive $218.5 million deal with the Boston Red Sox. 

“But even after trading for Garrett Crochet earlier this week, the Red Sox still feel like the strongest candidate, even though they've kind of balked at the price tags for both Burnes and Max Fried in the past week. After all, Crochet's projected $2.9M salary for 2025 did nothing to impact Boston's ability to pay Burnes, and they entered this offseason needing to add multiple starting pitchers. They got one for a platter of prospects, and they'll add the other for a boatload of money.”

After seeing some of the massive deals that Blake Snell and Max Fried got this offseason, Baltimore likely knows that Burnes is just going to be too expensive. The Orioles haven’t been a big spender on free agents, and allocating over $200 million to their ace seems unlikely. 

It's also possible the projected total is low for Burnes. Fried's deal was for $218 million and Burnes was considered the best pitcher in free agency before it started. If anything, Fried's deal may have driven up the price.

While there has certainly been a lot of chatter about the right-hander going to the San Francisco Giants, the Red Sox are another interesting destination. Starting pitching is certainly a need for them this winter, and adding Garrett Crochet from the Chicago White Sox was an excellent start toward fixing that. However, this was a team that was interested in both Snell and Fried. 

Even though they already added Crochet, that doesn’t mean that they are done. This is a franchise that seems to want to spend this offseason, and adding Burnes would be an excellent move for them. 

While seeing their ace staying in the division will be tough, the Orioles do still have other options out there if Burnes does indeed leave.