The Los Angeles Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles are the reported front runners for free agent ace Corbin Burnes in free agency.
MLB Network’s Jon Morosi said on Monday that the Dodgers and Orioles “stand above the others” in the race for the 2021 Cy Young award winner.
“There are two teams that stand above the others,” Morosi said. “Those are the Baltimore Orioles and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
But I was told by a source in the last 12 hours or so that nothing is getting finalized yet. He is still having broad interest around the major leagues right now.”
While the Dodgers and Orioles appear to be the front runners, that doesn’t mean it’s a two-team race.
“Orioles and Dodgers the leading candidates there on Burnes,” Morosi said, “but by no means is this a two-team race.”
Burnes is the best starting pitcher on the free agent market, at least coming from the United States. Burnes is a four-time All-Star and a Cy Young award winner, and still has plenty of good years ahead of him at 30 years old.
After spending the first six years of his career with the Milwaukee Brewers, Burnes was traded to the Orioles last offseason, and went 15-9 with a 2.92 ERA and 181 strikeouts across 194.1 innings pitched. Burnes has thrown at least 193 innings in each of the last three seasons, and had at least 200 strikeouts in every season from 2021-23.
Burnes won the Cy Young award in 2021 when he had a 2.43 ERA and 234 strikeouts across 167 innings pitched.
He had a career-high 243 strikeouts in 202 innings pitched in 2022.
Now, Burnes is a free agent, and could command a deal in the $200 million range.
Per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, “Burnes figures to be seeking at least a six-year contract, likely putting him in the $175 million-$200 million range, a touch higher than the seven-year, $172 million deal Aaron Nola signed last year entering his age-31 campaign.”
The Athletic predicted a contract of seven years and $247 million for Burnes.
Burnes is likely in no rush to make a decision, as he’ll wait to get the massive payday he deserves.
However, it’s great news for him that the high-spending Dodgers are involved, as they won’t be shy in driving up the price in order to upgrade their rotation.
As of now, the Dodgers 2025 rotation is expected to be led by Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Shohei Ohtani, although Ohtani may have a delay in his pitching after undergoing shoulder surgery this offseason.
As the Dodgers learned last offseason, they can never have too much pitching. A workhorse like Burnes would solidify the rotation for years to come.
