The Baltimore Orioles need some starting pitching. Corbin Burnes is a free agent and is increasingly likely to depart in free agency.
Baltimore traded for Burnes just before spring training and he put together a strong season, winning 15 games and posting a 2.92 ERA, but Baltimore will likely need to replace him.
Fortunately, there are still a lot of good options available on the free agent market, some of which are quite affordable for a team like the Orioles. On Monday, Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report predicted that Baltimore would land right-hander Walker Buehler.
“The Orioles have actively fleshed out their offense, notably doing free-agent deals with sluggers Tyler O’Neill and Gary Sánchez. Yet they still need an ace to fill Corbin Burnes’ shoes, and it just doesn’t feel like it’s going to be Burnes himself,” Rymer wrote.
“Jack Flaherty, Sean Manaea and Nick Pivetta are hypothetical options for Baltimore, but they’d be wiser to take a chance on Buehler. He should be more affordable and, as evidenced by his playoff performance, he still has ace upside.”
Buehler would be a perfect fit for the Orioles if he can replicate what he did in the postseason. His return from Tommy John surgery was a rocky one, as he went 1-6 with a 5.38 ERA and even returned to the injured list with a hip issue.
However, he made up for it all in the postseason. After a clunker in the National League Division Series, he had scoreless starts in the NLCS and World Series and even closed out the New York Yankees in the clinching Game 5.
If he can stay healthy, he could be the right guy to replace Burnes, and he would cost a fraction of the price.
It will be interesting to see if the Orioles pursue the veteran right-hander and make him their next ace.
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