MLB rumors: Why Corbin Burnes is ‘primed’ for 3rd-largest pitcher contract ever
The Baltimore Orioles put their best foot forward this past offseason in an attempt to bolster their 101-win roster and they traded away a plethora of assets for veteran starter Corbin Burnes to function as their rotation’s ace. And Burnes has delivered for the Orioles in a big way. Despite having gone through a rough August (8.71 ERA in four starts this month), Burnes’ status as one of the best pitchers in the MLB remains untouched.
The Orioles knew that trading for Burnes, as great of a pitcher as he may be, came with a major caveat. The 29-year-old starter is in the final year of team control, which means that Baltimore, given their spending history, may have traded for an ace of just one season. Burnes, in fact, is expected to command a huge contract that could be worth as much as the third-largest contract for a starting pitcher in MLB history, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.
Passan noted that, since 2021, Corbin Burnes has regularly ranked among the best starters in the entire MLB in “every category that matters”. In particular, the Orioles starter “is in the 90th-plus percentile” in strikeout minus walk rate, home runs allowed, batting average against, ERA, fielding independent pitching, soft-contact rate, hard-contact rate.
Burnes, Passan believes, is far and away the best starter on the market that will be available for the upcoming free agency period. There will be a few lower-cost yet quality options on the market, such as Yusei Kikuchi and Nathan Eovaldi, but Burnes’ consistency and stellar play outside of his forgettable August has him standing far away from the pack.
The free-agent market, historically-speaking, has financially rewarded pitchers of Corbin Burnes’ caliber handsomely. Given how expensive contracts tend to be these days and how valuable a consistent ace to front the rotation is for any contending team, Burnes could be on track to receive an eighth year on his future contract, with a total value that may only pale in comparison to the contracts signed by Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12 years, $325 million) and Gerrit Cole (nine years, $324 million).
Cole was only 29 when he signed the contract; Burnes will be turning 30, so it might be unlikely for the current Orioles starter to exceed that contract. Nevertheless, come free agency period, it is a guarantee that Burnes will be receiving money that will have him and his family set for life.
Corbin Burnes, the ace the Orioles sorely needed
Last year, the Orioles did not have an ace-caliber starter like Corbin Burnes around to front the rotation. They did it by committee, with Kyle Bradish emerging as far and away the team’s best starter.
Thankfully, the Orioles did not rest on their laurels even though having Bradish as the de facto ace wasn’t exactly the worst idea in the world. Bradish ended up having Tommy John surgery, which will sideline him for quite a while.
Now, the Orioles have the trusty arm of Burnes to lead the way for the team. His ERA may have ballooned as a result of his horrid August, but he has still instilled confidence in the team thanks to his pedigree.
The concern, of course, is that Burnes’ strikeout rate continues to decline. He is now striking out less than a batter per inning, which should raise some eyebrows. But the Orioles starter’s body of work speaks for itself.
The post MLB rumors: Why Corbin Burnes is ‘primed’ for 3rd-largest pitcher contract ever appeared first on ClutchPoints.
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