What Reported Corbin Burnes To Orioles Deal Means For Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox already had several stars to compete against in the American League East in 2024. Now, the Baltimore Orioles just made life in the division that much harder.

Fresh off of a new ownership deal, the Orioles made a blockbuster trade Thursday night with the Milwaukee Brewers to acquire 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. In return, Passan reported Milwaukee received the No. 34 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft along with shortstop Joey Ortiz and left-handed pitcher D.J. Hall.

Burnes is unequivocally one of the best frontline pitchers in baseball, posting four straight seasons with an ERA under 3.40 ERA. The right-hander also consistently posts around 200 innings with over 200 strikeouts across an average of 28 starts, leading by example at the top of the rotation.

Burnes made great sense for the pitching-needy Red Sox on paper, especially with a new brain trust led by pitching coach Andrew Bailey to elevate Boston’s arms. Ultimately, that deal never happened and an AL East rival made the move to add an All-Star.

Now, a Baltimore team that won 101 games and a division championship in 2023 gets a dominant ace in effort the further capitalize on a dynamic young core. Youthful stars in Gunnar Henderson, Ryan Mountcastle, Adley Rutschman and Anthony Santander get the boost they needed to build on early success.

The Red Sox have made an addition to the rotation this winter with the signing of former All-Star Lucas Giolito, who will pace the rotation with young right-hander Brayan Bello. With highly talented left-handers remaining on the market in Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery, the Red Sox could still have an answer if they want to make that move.

Burnes joins other stars such as Juan Soto, who the New York Yankees acquired in December, as the latest top talent to join the AL East this offseason. Given the rosters of their rivals, the Red Sox will have work to do in 2024.