Orioles latest signing gives fans cruel reminder of crushing Corbin Burnes miss

It has been a woefully underwhelming offseason for the Baltimore Orioles.

There was so much hope tied to new owner David Rubenstein, who wields a net worth of more than $4 billion. After toiling under the ultra-cheap Angelos for so long, O's fans were excited to finally have a front office empowered to spend. We've never seen Mike Elias with actual financial backing. Maybe, just maybe, Baltimore could operate on the same financial level as New York or Boston in a competitive division.

Well, those dreams are dead. All hope is lost. Elias did hand out the first multi-year deal of his tenure as O's GM. It was a three-year, $49.5 million contract for Tyler O'Neill, which includes an opt-out after the first season. That contract all but guaranteed that fan favorite Anthony Santander will not be back in 2025. That was his reward for a career-high 44 home runs — a ticket out the door.

Meanwhile, the O's let Corbin Burnes walk for a six-year, $210 million contract in Arizona, which will pay him roughly $35 million annually. Burnes has family ties to the Phoenix area, which clearly influenced his decision, but the O's never felt like a serious contender in the Burnes sweepstakes, which sucks considering they were the incumbents.

Instead, Baltimore has endeavored to replace Burnes by committee — and done a rather poor job at it.

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Orioles are replacing Corbin Burnes by committee and failing on all fronts

Unlike a great position player, there's really no way to replace an elite pitcher in the aggregate. Burnes more or less offered a guaranteed strong performance on the mound every fifth game for Baltimore. There's no way to replace his net value every fifth start without re-signing him or adding an ace of his caliber, of which there are precious few.

The O's can improve their starting depth all they want, but Burnes' absence will be deeply felt. Especially with Kyle Bradish still working his way back from injury.

Baltimore's so-called replacement plan has so far consisted of Charlie Morton (one year, $15 million), Tomoyuki Sugano (one year, $13 million), and high-end reliever Andrew Kittredge (one year, $10 million).

That is a $38 million investment for the 2025 campaign. The O's are spending, just not on premium assets. In the end, that has Baltimore spending more than Burnes' new annual salary on... what? A couple mid-to-late rotation vets and a solid bullpen arm?

It's not quite that simple, of course. Baltimore would have gladly handed Burnes a one-year, $35 million contract. The issue was length and control, as Arizona handed Burnes six years, an opt-out option, and a no-trade clause. The O's did not want to wrap up so much long-term salary in an ace on the back end of his prime. Burnes did show slight signs of decline last season and he's officially on the wrong side of 30.

That is understandable to a certain extent, although it's hard to imagine Baltimore ever outpacing New York or, god forbid, Los Angeles, when those teams are so comfortable burning cash and accepting the "risk," which is muted in those larger markets.

The real issue is that Baltimore clearly does not have a viable Burnes backup plan in place. Dylan Cease is off the table because the O's won't extend him next winter. They are limited by their own cheapness.

If the O's went out and inked Jack Flaherty to a reasonable long-term contract and added Morton for good measure, fans might be less inclined to nitpick. But, instead, the O's added a couple aging vets on one-year deals, which aligns uncomfortably with Elias' frustrating history as GM.

Old habits die hard.