Arguably, the biggest trade in Baltimore Orioles history came on February 1, 2024, when they acquired 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for prospects DL Hall, Joey Ortiz, and the 34th pick in the 2024 MLB draft, which ended up being University of Tennessee first baseman Blake Burke.
This was certainly the biggest trade of Mike Elias’ Orioles tenure, and showed that he was willing to do whatever it took to turn Baltimore into World Series contenders.
And Burnes made the move look brilliant for the Orioles during the 2024 regular season, as he posted a 15-9 record with a 2.92 ERA and 181 strikeouts across 194.1 innings pitched.
While Burnes only got to make one postseason start for the Orioles, he certainly wasn’t the reason they couldn’t make it past the Kansas City Royals, as he threw 8 innings and gave up just 1 earned run in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card series, which Baltimore lost 1-0.
Burnes became a free agent after the 2024 season and signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
And the Orioles felt his absence in 2025, as their starting rotation had a mediocre 4.65 collective ERA, which put them at No. 22 in MLB.
Orioles Predicted to Make Trade With Brewers
Elias has made it clear that he intends to bolster Baltimore’s rotation this winter. And in a November 21 article, Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com predicted that he’d do so by making another deal with Milwaukee.
“After restocking the farm system with a series of summer swaps, it might be more realistic to see the O’s swing a deal with a Milwaukee team that’s always down to deal and somehow grows pitching on trees,” Castrovince wrote.
“I kinda like the idea of the Orioles acquiring Freddy Peralta with a package that includes Major League-ready outfield prospect Dylan Beavers, whose left-handed swing has been compared to that of … Christian Yelich,” he added. “Anyway, I’m sure these two clubs can figure something out. They’ve done it before, after all.”
While Peralta might not be as big a name as Burnes, he’s still one of the most talented pitchers in baseball and would instantly make the Orioles’ rotation much more formidable.
He could end up being the missing piece to Baltimore becoming World Series contenders once again if Elias were willing to part ways with Beavers or whomever else it might take to get him.
