Brewers trade Corbin Burnes to Orioles for prospects in blockbuster move

Two weeks from when pitchers and catchers will take part in their first spring workouts at American Family Fields of Phoenix, the Milwaukee Brewers pulled off a bombshell trade.

Moving on is ace starting pitcher and 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes, who was sent to the Baltimore Orioles for a pair of prospects – left-hander DL Hall and infielder Joey Ortiz – and a 2024 Competitive Balance Round A draft pick (34th overall).

Burnes, 29, figured to be among the most sought-after players on the trade market this offseason with one year remaining of team control before reaching free agency at year’s end.

Rumors surrounding Burnes cooled as the winter progressed, and as the Brewers signed first baseman Rhys Hoskins it began to seem that Burnes would be on the mound for Milwaukee on opening day. 

Instead, the Brewers struck the deal Thursday night to send one of the best homegrown pitchers in franchise history to the Orioles, who are coming off a 101-win season but needed front-line pitching and possessed a deep farm system.

"It is a certainly a big piece of our club," general manager Matt Arnold said. "But at the same time, I think we've added a number of pieces including Rhys Hoskins that we feel really good about, and I wouldn't at all look at this as any kind of rebuild at all.

"This is something in fact that we think helps us right now and helps us in the future. Adding veteran players like we have bringing back guys like Wade Miley, but also making moves like this and then investing long-term in somebody like Jackson Chourio, I think speaks to the to the balancing act that we're trying to trying to walk here, which is helping the major-league team and also trying to win for many years to come."

Burnes made 106 starts and appeared in 167 games over six years for the Brewers, posting a 3.26 earned run average. He struck out 870 batters over 709 ⅓ innings while walking just 206. 

Since 2020, he has been one of the elite starting pitchers in baseball. The right-hander rose to prominence by posting a 2.11 ERA in that season as he bounced back from a dismal 2019 campaign and then won the NL Cy Young in 2021 with a 2.43 ERA.

Burnes earned his third straight all-star nod in 2023, going 10-8 with a 3.39 ERA, WHIP of 1.07 and 200 strikeouts in 193 ⅔ innings. His season got off to something of a controversial start, though, when he blasted the Brewers after losing his arbitration case at the outset of spring training.

Maybe most impressive was the ability of Burnes to take the ball every time he was called upon, as he made every one of his 93 starts from 2021 on.

There was no chance the Brewers had the chance to keep Burnes past 2024. With Scott Boras now serving as his agent, he will be seeking a gigantic new deal next offseason.

"I mean, nothing but great stuff from our end," Arnold said when asked about the impact Burnes had on the organization. "This guy did everything as good as you could ever hope. Just a huge credit to him for everything that he's accomplished, and our staff as well.

"A lot of people are involved with the success of everybody and it wasn't a clean road as everybody remembers. It got off to a little bit of a rocky start, just like those other guys. And look, I think we're going to potentially go through some ups and downs with young pitchers. I think that's just the course of how it goes with with young arms.

"But Corbin was nothing but a warrior for us. He was tremendous in every way, pitched in huge games for us, always took the ball and was just a winner. Thrilled for him and his opportunity going forward and also very excited about the players we're getting back here as well."

The loss of Burnes puts a big dent in the Brewers’ 2024 pitching – and, thus, their overall hopes of repeating as NL Central champions. Freddy Peralta will now slot in as the expected opening-day starter with Wade Miley and Colin Rea following in the rotation and Joe Ross, Robert Gasser, Aaron Ashby and, potentially, Hall fight for back-end spots.

"Anytime you're trying to replace Corbin Burnes, it's a challenge," Arnold said. "But I also think we have guys like Robert Gasser coming and Jacob Misiorowski, now DL Hall in our mix, and Carlos Rodríguez coming in. Not to mention all the other guys that we have coming back and Ashby coming back as well. We just have a lot of really exciting young arms still involved.

"So, we certainly feel like it's going to be a challenge, but we think our group is up to the task."

Hall, a lefthander, has a powerful four-pitch mix highlighted by a four-seam fastball that averaged 95.6 mph last season.

The 2017 first-round pick (21st overall) made 28 of his 29 appearances out of the bullpen for Baltimore since debuting in 2022. Scouts believe the 25-year-old could be an elite late-inning bullpen arm, but possessing four above-average pitches – Hall also throws a slider, changeup and curveball – could make him a viable starter over the long term if he refines his command.

“Frankly, I want to talk to him a little bit about it," Arnold said of the role Hall will fill for the Brewers this season. "He’s been good in both roles. He’s been a starter in the minor leagues, and he was an outstanding reliever for the Orioles last year, in particular in the playoffs. And so we think he’s going to have success in either role.

"I’d like to spend a little more time talking to him. I welcomed him to the team earlier, and he was very excited to be here with us as well, and excited for the new challenge. I think whatever role he’s in, he’s going to be great for us.”

Ortiz, also 25, was a fourth-round pick of the Orioles in 2019 who made his major-league debut in 2023 and hit .212 in 15 games.

In 316 games over four minor-league seasons, Ortiz hit .286 with 33 homers and 177 RBI to go along with an OPS of .806. Ortiz logged most of his time defensively at shortstop during his time with Baltimore, but has also seen time at second base and third base.

Third base might be the most logical landing spot for him with the Brewers, who have a large pool of candidates there but no one who would qualify as a clear-cut favorite at this point.

Also in the mix there will be holdovers Andruw Monasterio and Owen Miller and offseason acquisitions Oliver Dunn and Christian Arroyo, a non-roster invitee to camp with major-league experience.

"He’s thrilled to play anywhere," Arnold said of Ortiz. "This guy’s a gamer. Hard-nosed kid. A great defender. Gold Glove-caliber type is in our reports. We think he can play anywhere on the dirt, and he’s going to be good wherever he plays. That’s still to be determined I think throughout the course of spring training.”

Burnes and the Brewers agreed to a one-year, $15,637,500 deal earlier in the offseason. With Burnes now gone, will those savings make their way back toward further bolstering the major-league roster?

"It depends on the situation, honestly," Arnold said. "I think we've invested in guys like Rhys Hoskins. We've invested in guys like Jackson Chourio. We've always had support and the ability from from ownership to do those things at the appropriate time."

Arnold was also asked about potentially trading the other big-name pending free agent, shortstop Willy Adames, considering the glut of young infielders the team now has.

"It's hard to say," said Arnold. "As we've discussed in the past, sometimes these deals come together very quickly and in other cases, they take a long time. I'm certainly open to more conversations. I certainly wouldn't shut any conversations down at this point in the offseason."

To clear room on the 40-man roster for both Hall and Ortiz, the Brewers designated left-hander Ethan Small for assignment.

Small, the Brewers' first-round draft pick in 2018, made four total appearances for the Brewers in 2022 and 2023 and was being viewed as a full-time reliever moving forward.