Corbin Burnes, a former Cy Young winner, is bought from the Brewers by the Orioles.

Corbin Burnes, a former Cy Young winner, is bought from the Brewers by the Orioles.

The Baltimore Orioles and the Milwaukee Brewers announced Thursday that they had traded for former Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes. In exchange, the Orioles got fielder Joey Ortiz, left-hander DL Hall, and the 34th pick in the 2024 draft.

Even though the Brewers had trade offers for Burnes all winter, some teams thought they would keep the 2021 National League Cy Young winner because of how close spring training was getting.

The Orioles came up next. They won 101 games the previous season and have what might be the best young group in the major leagues, but there were some concerns about their rotation. Getting Burnes to land could help calm them down.

He is 29 years old and will be a free agent after the 2024 season. Last year, the 29-year-old went 10-8 for a 3.39 ERA along with 200 strikeouts in 193 innings, helping the Brewers win the NL Central title.

Burnes had 243 strikeouts to 202 innings the previous year, which was the most in the NL. He struck out 234 batters in 167 innings in 2021, gave up only 34 walks, and had an earned run average of 2.43.

He joins Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez, Dean Kremer, Tyler Wells, and John Means in the Baltimore rotation. Bradish and Rodriguez had the highest and third-best ERAs in the American League in the second half.

Milwaukee moved Burnes instead of trading him at the end of the season or losing him to free agency, even though they were the favorite in the Central.

Milwaukee gets rid of Burnes’ $15.6 million salary, and Baseball Prospectus says the team’s Opening Day payroll will be $92 million.

Brewers GM Matt Arnold said, “Corbin was a huge part of our recent success, and we appreciate everything he’s done for the organization throughout the years.” “We wish him and his loved ones nothing but the best going forward.”

The Orioles’ owner, John Angelos, agreed earlier this week to sell the team to David Rubenstein, a billionaire.

The price of the team went up to about $90 million. Seven other major baseball teams have Opening Day payrolls that are less than $100 million.

Ortiz, who is 25, might play in the infield for the Brewers this season. He is also a natural shortstop and will likely take over within 2025 if current shortstop Willy Adames leaves for free agency.

There were a lot of trade offers for Ortiz this winter because Baltimore had too many infielders.

These included Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, Ramon Urias, and prospects Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo, and Connor Norby.

In a trade, the Milwaukee Brewers sent right-handed starting pitcher Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles.

The trade was announced Thursday night. As part of Competitive Balance Round A, the Brewers are getting shortstop Joey Ortiz as well as left-handed pitcher D.L. Hall back. They will also get the 34th pick in the 2024 draft.

Burnes, who is 29, is under team management until the end of the 2024 season. He has been a trade candidate for a while because it was thought that he would test free agency following this season rather than signing an extension for the Brewers.

Burnes has been an All-Star three times and won the NL Cy Young Award in 2021. He came in seventh place for the award in 2022 to eighth place last year.

Burnes quickly rises to the top of the Baltimore Orioles’ rotation as a proven ace. In the front line last season, Kyle Bradish looked like a starter, and kid Grayson Rodríguez has also shown signs of being one.

Hey, Lefty John Means was an All-Star in the past and came back last season after surgery on his Tommy John.

All of this means that the Orioles have a chance to have a pretty strong top four in their rotation now that they have an ace like Burnes.

If this deal goes through, Burnes as well as Brandon Woodruff (who was hurt and then not tendered) will no longer be the Brewers’ two best pitchers. They will both be leaving this offseason.

Freddy Peralta becomes the best pitcher and has shown that he could be an All-Star. Veteran lefty Wade Miley will serve as the second starter, after Colin Rea. After that, there are a lot of unknowns.