It’s no surprise at this point that Corbin Burnes will talk to other teams in the offseason.
The Baltimore Orioles will have to do everything they can to keep him around, as he’s the exact type of pitcher they need to win a World Series.
If the Orioles lose Burnes, there could be a lot of change in the offseason. While they should look to trade for another elite arm regardless of his decision, replacing him would be nearly impossible.
Still, they’d have to trade for one.
Burnes is expected to get a contract around $225 to $250 million. That number could go up depending on the teams interested in his services, but there shouldn’t be many in the sweepstakes for the California native.
Most contending teams will give him a call, but even then, there are only a handful of teams with that type of money.
While the expectation is for him to get somewhere around that $225 to $250 million mark, there’s a scenario where Burnes gets more money.
MLB.com ranked the starting pitchers on playoff contenders, with the right-hander coming in at No. 5.
However, MLB.com also added that if he pitches well in the postseason, his appeal to other clubs may increase.
“Baltimore expected a true No. 1 starter when it traded significant young talent for Burnes this past winter. At 15-8 with a 2.95 ERA over 31 starts, the veteran righty certainly has delivered, including with a 1.08 ERA in four September outings and back-to-back scoreless victories over the Tigers. Entering the postseason with a banged-up rotation, the O’s will need Burnes more than ever, and a strong October performance will only serve to burnish his free-agent appeal heading into the offseason.”
It’s a fair comment to make, as pitching well in the postseason certainly comes with a price.
Burnes has struggled at times since the All-Star break. While he’s figured it out a bit over his last five starts, there was about a month stretch of bad showings.
The reality of the situation is that, despite some of those struggles, there’s a five-year sample size of Burnes being a top-10 pitcher in baseball.
When that’s the case, players often get paid.
His future contract could reach a point where Baltimore isn’t comfortable giving him what he’s looking for.
However, that’d require a team to likely get in the $300 million range.
That doesn’t seem probable now, but crazier things have happened, and his postseason performance could ultimately determine that.
