Top Competition for Baltimore Orioles Superstar Ace in MLB Free Agency Revealed

The Baltimore Orioles will have to fend off some teams that are ready to spend in order to keep their superstar.

Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles have the difficult misfortune this offseason of boasting one of the most sought after players in all of free agency on their current roster.

Right-handed pitcher Corbin Burnes is set to hit the open market just one year after Baltimore acquired the 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner from the Milwaukee Brewers in a blockbuster deal. Now, after another season that ended in a playoff sweep during what was another stellar year from Burnes, every team in the league who wants a starting pitcher is going to be after him.

Well expected to receive a contract that exceeds the $200 million mark, Burnes has established himself as one of the best pitchers on the planet and just recently only turned 30 years old. The Orioles will have a chance to get their say and make the superstar ace a big offer, but the question becomes if they can keep up with the endless amount of money the largest market teams in baseball have to offer. Jon Heyman of the New York Post predicted Burnes to land a seven-year, $210 million deal and have a market featuring all the usual suitors.

"The Orioles will try to keep him, but it will probably be hard with at least the Yankees, Mets and other big teams involved," Heyman wrote. "All the high-revenue AL East teams plus the Giants and Dodgers are expected to play for the southern California product."

Burnes is coming off another fantastic season and hitting free agency at the perfect time. The ace will finish top-ten in Cy Young voting for the fifth consecutive year and is set up in a market where he is the biggest name out there. With the best teams in baseball who are hungry to spend money always looking to add elite starting pitching, the chances of Burnes receiving an absolute mega-deal are high.

Of course, this is bad news for a Baltimore team that is likely willing to go to great lengths to keep him, but it may end up being depths that ownership and management are not comfortable to wade into. A long winter chess match is about to begin, and the Orioles will hope they are more than just a pawn in Burnes' free agency plans.