The Baltimore Orioles reached into the Japanese League to add veteran right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano when the sides agreed to a one-year, $13 million contract Monday, but that does not mean the organization has turned away from free agent right-hander Corbin Burnes, industry insiders believe.
The Orioles have spent about $71 million on the free agent market this season, but Burnes is expected to land a contract worth about three times that much on a long-term deal, market trends suggest, after early mega-deals to Juan Soto, Blake Snell and Max Fried.
Baltimore is attempting to keep up with free-spending division rival the New York Yankees while working through the disappointment of first-round playoff eliminations the last two seasons despite 192 regular-season victories at one AL East title.
It is unclear whether new owner David Rubenstein will step out on Burnes, who would command the largest deal in team history in terms of total outlay and average annual value. First baseman Chris Davis’ seven-year, $161 million deal signed in 2016 is the team record. Burnes, like Davis, is represented by super agent Scott Boras.
