Corbin Burnes’ departure required an Orioles front office response that still hasn’t come

Sports

add

PHOENIX – The Baltimore Orioles’ offer to right-hander Corbin Burnes in free agency was not at all embarrassing. But general manager Mike Elias had to know it was never going to win the day. He also had to know the void created by Burnes’ departure would warrant an urgent response.

None was forthcoming, raising questions that will persist until at least the trade deadline and possibly beyond. Elias maneuvered deftly in Feb. 2024 to acquire Burnes from the Milwaukee Brewers. He has failed to adequately address his rotation since.

The offer to Burnes – first reported by Orioles beat writers Tuesday and confirmed by two sources in Burnes’ camp – was four years, $180 million. The $45 million average annual value would have set a record for a pitcher not named Shohei Ohtani. But Burnes, 30, last went on the injured list for arm trouble in July 2019. He was the healthiest domestic ace to hit the market since Gerrit Cole. It was not unreasonable for him to want more than four years.

The six-year, $210 million deal Burnes signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks carried an AAV $10 million below the Orioles’ proposal, but a total guarantee $30 million higher. The difference in total value actually was greater, considering the state income tax rate is lower in Arizona than it is in Maryland. And the Diamondbacks offered something the Orioles and every other team could not – the chance for Burnes, a resident of Scottsdale, Ariz., to enjoy spring training and play regular-season games at home.

Burnes’ first two starts with the Diamondbacks have been a bit rough, with the righty compiling a 5.79 ERA and 1.929 WHIP in 9.1 innings. (Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images)

To get Burnes, the Orioles would have needed to go above and beyond the Diamondbacks, something they clearly – and rationally – were unwilling to do. The Boston Red Sox, according to a source briefed on their interest, also tried to woo Burnes with a short-term, high-dollar offer, to no avail.

The difference was, the Red Sox traded for an ace, left-hander Garrett Crochet, and signed a former ace, Walker Buehler. The Orioles added to their collection of mid- to back-of-the rotation starters by signing right-handers Charlie Morton, 41, and Tomoyuki Sugano, 35. And after a 4-3 loss to the Diamondbacks on Tuesday night, manager Brandon Hyde announced the latest blow to his starting staff, saying Zach Eflin would be shut down a week with a low-grade lat strain.

Even if Eflin recovers relatively quickly, bold action almost certainly will be required at the deadline, assuming the Orioles are competitive enough to force Elias’ hand. Under new ownership, the Orioles boosted their payroll by $66 million during the offseason, second only to the Los Angeles Dodgers.  But going back to last year’s deadline, Elias generally has opted for safer moves over major splashes. And with his team off to a 5-7 start, it sure looks like his talented group of young position players will need more help.

Grayson Rodríguez is a potential ace, but he twice went on the injured list with shoulder-related trouble last season, and has yet to pitch this season due to elbow inflammation. Kyle Bradish is an emerging ace who could return from Tommy John surgery in the second half, but the Orioles need only look at reliever Félix Bautista’s early difficulties coming off the same procedure to understand Bradish might not be the same right away.

Eflin, Elias’ best trade acquisition at last year’s deadline, is a quality mid-rotation starter who by default opened the season as the Orioles’ No. 1. Morton has an 8.78 ERA after three starts. Sugano shows promise, but his 156 2/3 innings in Japan last season represented his highest total since 2018. Some with the Orioles believe Dean Kremer is ready to take a step forward, but his career ERA+ is 7 percent below league average.

Rotation depth, the Orioles believed, would be a strength. Maybe that will be case by the second half. It isn’t yet. Cade Povich, coming off an impressive spring, had mixed results in his first two starts. Three potential depth starters, Albert Suárez, Chayce McDermott and Trevor Rogers, opened the season on the IL, as did Tyler Wells, who is recovering from elbow surgery.

The Orioles still might be OK, if Eflin, Rodríguez and Bradish are good to go in the second half. But what are the odds all three will be horses down the stretch? For Burnes, Elias parted with infielder Joey Ortiz, left-hander DL Hall and the No. 34 pick in the 2024 draft. The Orioles, still teeming with prospects, might need to get uncomfortable again at the deadline, trading for the Marlins’ Sandy Alcántara or some other top starter.

Elias sent three minor leaguers to the Tampa Bay Rays to gain a year-plus of club control with Eflin, who has a 2.70 ERA in 12 regular-season starts since the deal. His other move for a starting pitcher at last year’s trade deadline, a deal with the Miami Marlins for two-plus years of Rogers, looks like a dud. The youngsters Elias parted with, infielder Connor Norby and outfielder Kyle Stowers, were blocked with the Orioles. But Norby, in particular, possibly could have yielded a better return.

Elias’ deadline additions to the bullpen (Seranthony Domínguez and Gregory Soto) and offense (Eloy Jiménez, Austin Slater and Cristian Pache), had little impact down the stretch, though Domínguez and Soto are off to strong starts this season. And while the rotation was a priority over the winter, the pickings were admittedly slim. Most of the better free-agent starting pitchers commanded larger contracts than expected. Crochet was the best starter traded, followed by Jesús Luzardo and Jeffrey Springs. Dylan Cease and Luis Castillo never moved.

Tyler O’Neill, Gary Sánchez and Ramon Laureano were sensible enough additions to the Orioles’ offense, though O’Neill can opt out of his three-year, $49.5 million contract after this season. The looming question is what Elias will do with corner infielder Coby Mayo, the game’s No. 14 prospect, according to The Athletic’s Keith Law. Mayo is off to a slow start at Triple A, but as long as he resumes mashing, he’s the kind of young player who could lead a package for a top starting pitcher.

Elias might envision Mayo as the eventual replacement for first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, who is a free agent after the 2026 season. But at some point, the Orioles need to be as committed to the present as they are the future. And their reaction to losing Burnes only amplified the questions about Elias’ ability to build a major-league roster as strong as his farm system.

The Orioles’ reluctance to extend further for Burnes after offering him a record AAV was understandable. But Elias had to know the offer would be good enough to lose. It’s haunting his team that he failed to win the day some other way.

(Top photo of Mike Elias: Diamond Images via Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

Share on

email

Previous

trending_flat

State of Florida recruiting: Reviewing the hits, misses and hidden gems from the 2015 cycle

Sports

Next

trending_flat

With Wayne Gretzky’s goal mark gone, how many NHL records are truly unbreakable?

Sports