Orioles Acquire Corbin Burnes: What to Make of Trade

The Baltimore Orioles won the AL East last season and have one of the best young cores in the game. And, the O’s will enter 2024 with a name that could take Baltimore to a new level. The Orioles have acquired Corbin Burnes, who’s been one of the game’s best over the last three years.

The Orioles’ Return

SP Corbin Burnes (3.39 ERA, 200 K over 193.2 IP)

It’s hard to find a better starter in the Majors than Corbin Burnes. No starter in the game has had a lower opponent’s OPS (.577) over the last three seasons than Burnes (min. 400 IP) and only Gerrit Cole (722) has more strikeouts than the new Bird.

Corbin Burnes whiff chart 2023 — Burnes is a master of the tunnel, between his cutter and slider. Couple that with a sharp biting curveball with a vertical drop and it’s not a shock why he’s been elite for the past four seasons.

Burnes scuffled at times throughout the first month and June of 2023 in what was still a very impressive season for the righty. The 29-year-old struck out 200 and walked 66 over 193.2 IP and Burnes led all NL pitchers in WHIP (1.07).

Very pitchers have stuff that rivals Burnes. His bread-and-butter pitch is a nasty mid-90s cutter that can get both lefties and righties out.

Aside from that cutter, Burnes’ arsenal includes a very good curveball with sharp break downward, a slider that compliments his cutter all too well, a sinker, and a changeup that he mainly uses against left-handed hitters.

The 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner, the three-time All-Star is now headed to Baltimore.

The Brewers’ Return

SP/RP DL Hall (3.26 ERA, 23 K over 19.1 IP)
2B Joey Ortiz (.212, no HR and 1 XBH over 34 PA (MLB))
34th pick in 2024 MLB Draft

Aside from the 34th pick that’s being sent to Milwaukee, the biggest piece that’s going to the Brewers is former first-round pick, left-hander DL Hall.

Hall was a force in the Minors, as he struck out 499 batters over 353.1 innings as a starter. But in the Majors, the 25-year-old has been used almost exclusively as a reliever. It worked well late last year, as Hall proved to be a reliable arm for the Orioles bullpen down the stretch.

Across 18 games (19.1 IP), Hall struck out 23 and walked just five over 19.1 IP.

Hall’s got the arsenal to be a starter. The 25-year-old owns a mid-90s fastball that doesn’t have plus carry (15.5” IVB) but does play up thanks to extension. And, Hall’s got a slider and changeup that have yielded him success in his brief MLB career.

Arguably the biggest knock on Hall is the command. While Minor League batters hit just .198 (.632 OPS) off Hall, the left did walk 204 batters in the Minors. He’s got a tough-to-repeat delivery but there’s potential for him to be a #2 or #3 starter at the MLB level nonetheless.

The Brewers also acquired infielder Joey Ortiz, a 25-year-old who was drafted by Baltimore in the fourth round back in 2019.

Ortiz, a 5’9” right-handed bat, has long been known as a very good contact hitter who’s had a knock for putting the ball in play. The new Brewer struck out just 236 times over 316 Minor League games (17.2% K%). Just this past season in Triple-A, Ortiz hit .321/.378/.507 with nine home runs and 43 extra-base hits. The 25-year-old has fringe-average power.

The 25-year-old played just a handful of games at the MLB level with the Orioles. However, the O’s have a ton of middle infielder talent — think Jordan Westburg and Jackson Holliday — that complicated Ortiz’s path to a regular role with Baltimore.

Analysis

The Orioles were rumored to be to be looking for an ace for months, including last summer. Now, the O’s have their man in Burnes.

Baltimore now has a premier arm in Corbin Burnes to pair with Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez, and Dean Kremer, and one that should give the O’s an edge in what will be a tight race for the AL East.

But more importantly, the acquisition of Burnes gives the reigning AL East champs an arm that they’ll hope will come up clutch in the playoffs. And, the move comes after the announcement of new ownership coming to Birdland.

As for the Brewers, Milwaukee didn’t net one of the Orioles’ elite prospects. But, the Brewers did one of Baltimore’s best young arms and one that does have high potential. Hall is high-risk but as mentioned earlier, he’s got the stuff to be a good starter.

However, one thing that did likely hurt the return was the fact that Burnes will be a free agent after 2024. Now, the attention turns to the Orioles and whether Baltimore can re-sign him past this year.