Orioles Could Make This Trade And Signing To Improve Pitching
No Major League team is going to make just one more this offseason. Every team will make several. Some of those moves will be small, and some will have an immediate impact.
But what if a team could use a trade and a free-agent signing in combination with each other to make their team better? That was the premise of a recent ESPN article.
The site listed one trade and one signing that each team could make in order to get better for 2024. For the Baltimore Orioles it was all about pitching.
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First, there was the trade, and it’s one that has been hypothetically raised here and in other reports. The Orioles would acquire pitcher Corbin Burnes from Milwaukee for corner infielder Coby Mayo.
The Brewers are reportedly taking a step back in order to take a step forward. That means they’re willing to move some veterans, including Burnes, who is only under contract through 2024.
Burnes has been a reliable right-hander for Milwaukee, as he’s won at least 10 games each of his last three seasons and in 2021 he had an MLB-low 2.43 ERA. In 2023 he went 10-8 with a 3.39 ERA in 32 starts and had an NL-best WHIP of 1.069. He also won the 2021 Cy Young award.
Mayo finished the season at the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate in Norfolk, where he slashed .290/.410/.563/.973 with 29 home runs and 99 RBI, the latter two being career highs. He can play either corner position and his power projects to the MLB level. Plus, the Brewers would have plenty of control over Mayo’s rights.
As for the signing, the site suggested the Orioles add to their bullpen by snagging Jordan Hicks on a four-year, $44 million contract. Adding Hicks, in concert with the trade, gives the Brewers a chance to solve their back-end bullpen issue as closer Felix Bautista recovers from Tommy John surgery:
The hard-throwing Hicks could take over the eighth or ninth inning. The lineup remains intact, while adding Heston Kjerstad to a 1B/RF/DH role, Jordan Westburg to second base and (No. 1 prospect Jackson) Holliday perhaps ready at midseason, with Henderson sliding over to third base.
Burnes would give the Orioles a top-of-the-rotation starter. Hicks would give them help at the back end of their bullpen. Those are the two areas where the Orioles hope to get better before 2024.
