Not so fast. ESPN’s Jeff Passan published his 2024-25 offseason preview on Tuesday and he warned against counting the Orioles out of the Burnes sweepstakes.
“Don’t forget about the Orioles, either,” he wrote. “They are intent on filling out their rotation this winter, and new owner David Rubenstein is ready to spend. Burnes returning to Baltimore would be welcome for an organization that regressed in 2024 and is surrounded in the AL East by teams that plan to spend heavy this winter (New York, Toronto, Boston).”
If Passan is right about the Orioles’ willingness to spend, then they stand about as good a shot as anyone to land Burnes. Baltimore has less than $100 million tied up for next year and went 91-71 in 2024.
Despite losing to the Kansas City Royals in the Wild Card round, the Orioles were real American League pennant threats. They’re not far off from making it back in 2025.
It’s hard to imagine how that happens without Burnes anchoring a rotation otherwise filled with question marks.
The Orioles will have plenty of competition for Corbin Burnes
The saying goes that you could never have too much starting pitching. So it’s only logical that any team able to cough up the money it would take to land Burnes would be interested in his services.
The Mets are expected to focus on Juan Soto this offseason, but Burnes is also high on their priority list according to ESPN’s Jorge Castillo.
There’s a connection there, as Castillo points out: Burnes pitched in Milwaukee while team president David Stearns was their general manager.
The Mets will also be in the market for pitching with some critical rotation pieces like Luis Severino and Sean Manaea hitting free agency.
The Dodgers are also candidates to lure Burnes out west. Not only are the Dodgers the reigning World Series champions, but they seem to fit the profile of what Burnes is looking for.
The Orioles pitcher spoke to Will Sammon of The Athletic during the season about what he will want from his next team.
“I am going to have to do a lot of research this offseason of farm systems, young guys coming up, groups of core guys that are on a team,” Burnes said. “Where does it look like teams are going to be competitive? Where are teams just looking to spend some money to make the fan base happy? Whatever it might be.”
The Dodgers have the fifth-ranked farm system in baseball, per MLB.com, and have proven they are willing to spend silly amounts of money.
