Trade Idea Has Baltimore Orioles Landing Former Cy Young Winner

The Baltimore Orioles could turn their attention to another trade partner to land the ace they're looking for this offseason.

With the offseason continuing to progress, the Baltimore Orioles are still searching for an elite pitcher who could slot into the top of their rotation.

They have been heavily connected to the Chicago White Sox in potential discussions surrounding their ace Dylan Cease, but as it stands now, there has been no progress made towards getting a deal done.

Not only is the White Sox asking price very high, it doesn't seem like the Orioles would be willing to match it due to their preference of holding onto their homegrown talents.

But, an interesting trade idea from Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report has Baltimore landing a different ace this offseason as they acquire Corbin Burnes from the Milwaukee Brewers.

In his proposed package, the Orioles would only send out one of their prospects, their No. 4 rated player Coby Mayo, and would get back the right-handed 2021 NL Cy Young winner and the Brewers' No. 5 overall prospect, left-handed pitcher Robert Gasser.

If this is a realistic trade that Baltimore could pull off, they should absolutely consider this.

Yes, Mayo is a very talented prospect, making his way up to Triple-A in his third professional season and slashing .267/.393/.512 with 12 homers and 55 RBI in 62 games at that level.

But, his fielding positions of third and first base are covered for a while on the Orioles' Major League roster.

Ryan Mountcastle is under club control until 2026 and the group of Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, Joey Ortiz and Jackson Holliday are there until 2029.

Maybe Baltimore decides to move off of Mountcastle before then to slot Mayo at first, but would that be worth missing out on one of the best pitchers in the league and a talented pitching prospect in return?

The tricky thing with Burnes is he would only spend one year with the Orioles before hitting free agency, and would likely command a large contract from his next team.

That's something that needs to be considered since they most likely have no chance of re-signing him.

But the 24-year-old Gasser spent all of last year with Milwaukee's Triple-A affiliate and had a 9-1 record with a 3.79 ERA across 25 starts and 135 1/3 innings pitched.

He looks ready to make his Major League debut and be a contributor immediately.

In this trade package, Baltimore would not only land their ace entering 2024 and a future pitcher in their rotation, but they would only have to give up one of their talented prospects, not multiple like the Cease deal would command.

This is something general manager Mike Elias should consider.