The AL East just got much more treacherous.
NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes has been traded from the Milwaukee Brewers to the Baltimore Orioles, the team’s announced on Thursday. MLB Pipieline’s No. 63 prospect Joey Ortiz and Southpaw DL Hall are heading to the Brewers in exchange for their ace.
Burnes will immediately head to the top of the rotation of a young star-studded team that is coming off of a 101-win season.
The defending AL East Champions fortified arguably the biggest weakness on their roster by grabbing the top arm available.
Burnes posted a 3.39 ERA last season in 32 starts racking up 200 strikeouts. The 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner posted a league-best 1.07 WHIP in 2023. The 29-year-old has just one year remaining on his contract.
From the Yankees’ perspective, this move cannot be too exciting for Brian Cashman and company.
The club was publicly in the market for an ace-caliber pitcher this offseason and they just watched Burnes head to arguably their biggest competition to win the AL East.
The Bombers pushed all of their chips to the center of the table on 2024 after they traded for one guaranteed year of Juan Soto surrendering Michael King, Jhony Brito, Randy Vasquez, Kyle Higashioka and prospect Drew Thorpe. After Soto, their only move of significance was signing Marcus Stroman to a two-year, $37 million contract.
It remains to be seen if there is a ripple effect from the move of Burnes within the trade market or if the Bombers have another move left in them.
The other arm the Yanks were rumored to be interested in was White Sox starter Dylan Cease although there has been speculation that the cost for the right-hander is too high — this was also reported to be the case for Burnes before his deal to Baltimore.
