Free agent starting pitcher Corbin Burnes is one of the hottest names this offseason.
Burnes spent last season with the Baltimore Orioles after they made a trade for him with the Milwaukee Brewers last offseason, but there is no guarantee that he would consider a return to Baltimore.
Orioles general manager Mike Elias spoke about his pursuit of re-signing Burnes to MLB Network insider Jon Morosi at the General Manager Meetings in San Antonio, Texas on Thursday.
“We had a wonderful experience with him. He did a tremendous job for us. It was a really good fit all around. It was a trade that worked out really well for both teams,” Elias said “We’re really regretful we weren’t able to capitalize on his presence with a longer postseason run because he pitched wonderfully in the Wild Card game and our team just wasn’t scoring and we didn’t advance. He was a great guy to have anchor your rotation.”
“I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of interest in him being who he is, but I think he knows what he has in Baltimore and the chances to win and the support system we provided him. We’re definitely staying plugged in with him and his camp.”
Do the Baltimore Orioles have a chance at re-signing Corbin Burnes?
Burnes has been one of the best pitchers in all of baseball since becoming a full-time starter during the 2020 season, making four-straight All-Star games and winning the National League Cy Young award in 2022.
This past season with the Orioles, Burnes went 15-9 with a 2.92 ERA while throwing 194 1/3 innings and striking out 181 batters.
In his lone postseason appearance against the Kansas City Royals in Game 1 of the Wild Card Round, Burnes threw eight innings of one-run ball in a 1-0 loss.
The Orioles should be able to offer Burnes a competitive contract with new owner David Rubenstein now in the fold and ready to invest in top-tier free agents. So the main question will most likely be if Burnes wants to return to the Orioles.
If Burnes choose not to re-sign with the Orioles, another option could be for them to target other top free agent pitchers with the money they would have spent on Burnes.
