Burnes was best starter available, and is an elite talent too
The Orioles have their ace. Baltimore acquired star pitcher Corbin Burnes from the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday night, adding a three-time All-Star and the 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner to the top of their rotation in exchange for left-handed pitcher DL Hall, infielder Joey Ortiz and a 2024 draft pick.
It was a move long desired by both fans and executive vice president Mike Elias, who said at the recent Birdland Caravan that the club was “probably being as aggressive as any team out there” in looking for pitching help.
So, what exactly are the Orioles getting in the 29-yearold Burnes? Here are four things to know about the newest addition to the reigning American League East champions:
He was perhaps the best starting pitcher available
Even with new owner David Rubenstein’s deep pockets, the Orioles were never going to be in the market for star pitchers Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Aaron Nola. Reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell is reportedly seeking a $270 million deal. That left a trade that pulled from the organization’s deep pool of prospects as the best avenue to acquire a top-end starting pitcher.
Burnes, along with Chicago White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease and Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Tyler Glas
now, entered the offseason among the most likely starters to be dealt. Burnes had perhaps the best resume.
After that sparkling 2021 campaign, which included a major league-best 2.43 ERA, he also led the NL in strikeouts in 2022. He took some small steps back in 2023, recording a 3.39 ERA and a career-low 25.5% strikeout rate, but he finished among the top eight in NL Cy Young voting for the fourth straight season.
He’s considered an elite talent
Entering the 2023 season, The Athletic surveyed a collection of 20 executives, analysts and scouts to determine the top starting pitchers in the majors. Justin Verlander ranked first, in a tier of his own. At the top of Tier 2: Burnes and eventual AL Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole.
That tier was reserved for aces, “the pitchers you can trust all regular season and again in October.” Burnes ranked above other stars such as Sandy Alcantara, Max Scherzer, Shohei Ohtani, Jacob deGrom and
Aaron Nola, many of whom have commanded some of the richest contracts in the history of the sport.
“Cerebral,” a scout told The Athletic of Burnes. “Durable. Damn good. He’s got it all.”
He’s under contract for one more season
After agreeing to a one-year, $15.6 million deal with Milwaukee last month to avoid a hearing in his final year of arbitration, Burnes will be eligible for free agency following the 2024 season. That freedom is something the six-year veteran has long coveted.
In December, Burnes said on the “Fair Territory” podcast that he planned to test the open market after a contentious arbitration process with the Brewers. When he lost his hearing last February over a reported difference of $750,000 in salary, he had harsh words for the team that drafted him in the fourth round in 2016.
“Once you get that six years of service time, which for a lot of guys takes seven, eight, sometimes nine years to get to, you kind of get that chance to test the market and kind of see what your top dollar is,” he said.
He changed his routine to become an ace
After a promising start to his major league career in 2018, when he went 7-0 and had a 2.61 ERA in 38 innings coming out of the bullpen, Burnes was expected to blossom in his first full season in the rotation. But he was hit hard, posting an 8.82 ERA while allowing 17 home runs in 49 innings.
“When I was coming up in ’18, I think it was more pitching off sheer adrenaline and talent that got me there,” he said in an MLB Network interview in 2022. “First year in the rotation, I was just going to run out the same sheer skill and adrenaline, and I learned real quick it takes a lot more than that to pitch in the big leagues.”
He then got in contact with sports psychologist Brian Cain, who helped him form a routine that included a mental training program used by Navy SEALs as well as simple tasks such as making a bed every morning.
Burnes said he writes in a journal after every start and will practice guided meditation 50 minutes before he takes the mound. He also reads a chapter out of “The Mental ABC’s of Pitching” by Harvey Dorfman every day.
“I put in just as much off the field, on the mental side of things, as I did physically,” Burnes told reporters ahead of the 2020 season. “That’s probably what I pride myself on the most; the mental work I’ve done and how much I’ve grown as a player and as a person.”