The Baltimore Orioles need to move on from the short-lived Corbin Burnes era. The right-handed starter pitched just one season in Baltimore but was the anchor to the team’s rotation as the O’s won 91 games and reached the MLB Postseason for the second year in a row.

Now, Burnes is with the Arizona Diamondbacks on a six-year, $210 million contract. He earned that deal after four straight All-Star seasons (that would have likely been five had there been an All-Star Game in 2020). Last year with Baltimore, Burnes went 15-9 with a sub-3.00 ERA and a 1.096 WHIP.

There isn’t another Corbin Burnes on the free agent market. The best arm available is probably Roki Sasaki, and while the Orioles should absolutely shoot their shot with the Japanese phenom, the odds of him landing in Charm City are scant.

But just because there isn’t a 1-for-1 replacement realistically available for Burnes, it doesn’t mean the Orioles should throw up their hands and forget about it. There’s still enough on the Baltimore roster for the team to make a playoff push but at least one more solid arm in the rotation could make a huge difference.

Jack Flaherty should be the Orioles’ next major target

At his best, Jack Flaherty is the best available starting pitching option for Baltimore on the free agent market. Fans last saw him on the mound at Yankee Stadium during Game 5 of the World Series where he had a forgettable outing, but it shouldn’t take away from a resurgent 2024 season.

Between his time with the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers, Flaherty pitched to a 3.17 ERA with 194 strikeouts over 162 innings.

Orioles fans may be understandably apprehensive about a Flaherty reunion after he had a forgettable nine-game stretch with Baltimore in 2023.

But there are some indicators that he figured something out in 2024. For one thing, his velocity increased across the board compared to 2023. For another, his chase rate jumped, showing he has a better idea of how to miss bats while keeping the ball out of the meat of the strike zone.

There’s also the money factor. While Flaherty may not quite have Burnes’ upside, he has the potential to be better dollar-for-dollar.

He stands to make around $10 million less per season than Burnes and could give the Orioles some room to roll the dice on another starter as well if they want to add depth.

Jose Quintana can add experience to the Baltimore rotation

Jose Quintana’s 13-year Major League career has taken him to every division except for the American League East, a notoriously tough division for any starting pitcher. Heading into his age 36 season, Quintana may not be the front-end guy he was in his early 20s, but he can still hang. Pitching for the New York Mets in 2024, Quintana pitched to a 3.75 ERA and made 31 starts for a team that went to the National League Championship Series.

The downside would be his age. Baltimore has already signed 35-year-old Tomoyuki Sugano from Japan and Albert Suarez is also 35. Yes, there is plenty of young pitching talent in Baltimore, but it could be dangerous to place so much hope on so many players in their mid-thirties.

What does Max Scherzer have left in the tank?

The age concern counts even more for Scherzer. At 40, the three-time Cy Young winner threw just 43.1 innings last year as he dealt with multiple injuries.

He wouldn’t be a guy that Baltimore targets as the sole replacement for Burnes, but could be a gamble worth taking if the Orioles also land someone like Flaherty.

Though injuries slowed him last year, Scherzer was still an effective pitcher — and he has been for the better part of two decades.

He would come relatively cheap on a one-year deal and would certainly not need to be anything approaching what he was in his prime in order to be a solid addition to the Orioles’ rotation.

If he could be the guy who threw 152.2 innings two years ago, splitting time between the Mets and World Series champion Texas Rangers, that could be enough.