Potential Corbin Burnes Replacement Predicted To Cost Baltimore Orioles $168 Million

The Baltimore Orioles could go the cheaper route and sign one of the pitchers on the market.

Sep 16, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Max Fried (54) throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third inning at Truist Park. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

It's almost impossible to tell what the Baltimore Orioles plan to do if they lose Corbin Burnes in the offseason. The right-hander is the top arm on the market, and rightfully so, as he's put together one of the best careers in baseball over the past five-plus years.

It goes without saying that if the Orioles were to watch him depart in the winter, they'd have to find a replacement. That'd be nearly impossible, considering star pitchers like Burnes aren't often available, but something would have to be done.

The last thing Baltimore's front office can allow this winter is for him to walk and not find a replacement. That would put this team further back than they were in 2024, which was already an issue after getting swept in the early stages of the postseason once again.

There will be options to help replace him, but no other pitcher on the market would be a clear replacement.

Max Fried could potentially fit the description of doing so.

Fried has also been lights out throughout the past five seasons, posting a 2.81 ERA. However, unlike Burnes, he's had a few injuries during that span. 

Nonetheless, if the Orioles were to lose the California native, the left-handed Fried would at least give them a pitcher who isn't multiple tiers below him.

He should also be cheaper, as Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report predicted him to land a six-year, $168 million deal.

"There are some injury concerns surrounding Max Fried after he missed significant time in 2023 with a forearm strain, but even with that injury limiting him to only 14 starts that season, he has still been one of the most productive starters in baseball over the last five years. Since the start of the 2020 season when he put together a breakout performance and finished fifth in NL Cy Young voting, he has gone 54-25 with a 2.81 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 624 strikeouts in 659 innings... The six-year, $162 million deal Carlos Rodón signed with the New York Yankees looks like a reasonable comparison given his similar top-of-the-rotation upside, and Fried might be able to top that thanks to fewer injury red flags."

There's a chance Burnes will land nearly $100 million more than that, so it's easy to see why Baltimore might be interested in looking elsewhere.

While that wouldn't exactly make fans happy, Fried wouldn't be a lousy runner-up trophy.

He's among the best in baseball, and if they added another arm on top of him, their rotation could be better in 2025.