Philadelphia Phillies Connected to Brewers Ace in Trade

The Philadelphia Phillies have several options to get starting pitching for 2024 and that includes a Brewers ace with a Cy Young on the shelf.

The Philadelphia Phillies are likely to add a starting pitcher, one way or another, either in free agency or via trade.

Sure, the Phillies could find a way to retain pitcher Aaron Nola, assuming he doesn’t accept the qualifying offer extended to him, which is worth $20 million. He’s widely expected to decline and test free agency, where he could command a deal worth close to $200 million.

Now, he and the Phillies tried to get a deal done in the offseason but they were far apart when it came to money.

So, if Nola departs, there are free agent options. But the Phillies could also pursue a trade, and there’s a pitcher out there that fits.

The Athletic recently wrote about 10 big-name players that could be traded this offseason. Milwaukee pitcher Corbin Burnes made the list, and the Phillies were connected as a possible landing spot.

The Brewers, who won the NL Central, have some issues. Their manager, Craig Counsell, left for the Chicago Cubs. One of their top starters, Brandon Woodruff, will miss most, if not all, of 2024 after surgery to repair the anterior capsule in his right shoulder. Brewers ownership is making noise that they may have to take a step back before taking a step forward.

Enter Burnes, who is a free agent after the 2024 season. Now, that may not seem to be to the Phillies’ liking, who are looking for a long-term solution at the top of the rotation. But, he’s under team control in 2024 and set up for arbitration, where he could fetch as much as $14 million.

The Phillies paid Nola $16 million in 2023.

Burnes has been a reliable right-hander for Milwaukee, as he’s won at least 10 games each of his last three seasons and in 2021 he had an MLB-low 2.43 ERA. In 2023 he went 10-8 with a 3.39 ERA in 32 starts and had an NL-best WHIP of 1.069. He also won the 2021 Cy Young award.

Given that he’s on the doorstep of free agency and the Phillies have some trade options on their own roster and their farm system, a trade for Burnes is worth entertaining.