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Mike Elias: Corbin Burnes is ‘exactly what we needed’

Matt Hanifan / MLB / February 6, 2024

Mike Elias: Corbin Burnes is ‘exactly what we needed’

Not even a day after the Baltimore Orioles underwent ownership change, the organization completed one of the biggest trades of the offseason, acquiring Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Corbin Burnes in a three-player exchange.

On Friday, Orioles general manager Mike Elias opened up to the media for his first comments since the trade. Here’s what he had to say:

“This is a big trade and big moment for our team,” Elias said, according to MASN’s Steve Melewski. “Corbin Burnes is exactly what we needed. We were in a dogged pursuit of him the entire offseason.

“I think it’s a great trade for both sides. They are getting, not just young talent, but two players that are ready to plug-and-play and ready to fill big holes on their team. We are going to miss those guys, but it was a good exchange of needs and fits.”

Burnes, 29, is a bonafide ace who was one of the best arms in the National League. Last season, he pitched to a 3.39 ERA, 3.81 FIP with 200 strikeouts in 193.2 innings. He won the NL CY Young in 2021 after sporting a 2.43 ERA, 1.63 FIP and a 35.6 percent strikeout rate–which all sat atop MLB.

“He was at the top of the board from a talent perspective,” Elias added. “This is a risky move, but it lined up for both sides.”

“We weren’t going to force it necessarily, but our wish list was a rotation upgrade and I certainly think that the Cy Young winner and with his body of work qualifies as that. We couldn’t have found a better upgrade and now we just have to go play the games.”

Aaron Boone: Scared Of The Orioles After The Corbin Burnes Trade?

While MLB can be very unpredictable, the AL East was looked at as a two-team race entering 2024 between the Orioles and New York Yankees. The Orioles won 101 games last year and have multiple young, valuable position players in Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson, to combine with a budding pitching staff.

New York had a very disappointing 2023 season after finishing 82-80, but it acquired (super)star outfielder Juan Soto plus outfielder Alex Verdugo from the rival Red Sox. It still has some questions at the back-end of its rotation, but it got a much-needed jolt in its lineup.

As noted above, Corbin Burnes gives Baltimore an unquestioned ace atop its rotation–one it desperately needed. He will head the snake followed by Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez, John Means–who missed all but four starts in 2023 due to recovering from Tommy John surgery–and Dean Kremer.

This is an exceptional squad, and they just got better. Elias is right: It’s exactly what they needed.

Can the Orioles repeat as AL East champions and possibly make it out of the American League? Let us know in the comments!