Brewers trade rumored SF Giants target in blockbuster deal with Orioles
The Milwaukee Brewers have shaken up the late-offseason trade market by sending longtime ace Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for prospects Joey Ortiz, DL Hall, and the 34th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. Burnes, who attended St. Mary's College of California in the Bay Area, has long been viewed as a potential trade target for the SF Giants. However, it seems like San Francisco will have to wait until next offseason to add the veteran righty now as he heads to a postseason contender.
Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Corbin Burnes pitches against the Dbacks. (2023)
Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports
Neither Hall nor Ortiz are consensus top-100 prospects in the league. Although Hall was a consensus top-100 prospect for several years before erratic control led him to plateau in the upper minors. Hall still has his rookie eligibility intact, but has a 4.36 ERA (2.44 FIP) with 42 strikeouts and 11 walks in 33 innings pitched (29 appearances) as a reliever over the past two seasons with the Orioles. He has been less effective as a starting pitcher.
Ortiz has been an exceptional minor-league performer since he was drafted in the fourth round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of New Mexico State. A career .286/.357/.449 hitter in the minors, Ortiz struggled to a .212/.206/.242 line in 34 big-league plate appearances this past season in his MLB debut. Now 25, Ortiz is still considered a borderline top-100 prospect by some.
Nevertheless, it's hard not to look at that package as a significantly underwhelming return for the Brewers, who are parting with one of the best pitchers in MLB over the past several years. Over his six-year career, Burnes has been selected to three All-Star teams and finished among the top eight in National League Cy Young voting in each of the past four years.
Of course, the Brewers are justifying this trade by citing Burnes' lack of team control. Slated to become a free agent after this season, Burnes will surely command a massive contract next offseason barring a catastrophic 2024 campaign. Rather than investing in building a contender, the Brewers seem more interested in cutting costs to enter a cheap rebuild.
The Orioles will reap the benefits and are slated to pay Burnes less than $16 million this season. If he departs in free agency, the Orioles will recoup a compensatory pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. With all that in mind, it's worth wondering if the Giants should have made a more aggressive play to acquire the veteran righty.
Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi had openly discussed interest in some of the potentially available arms on the market. However, he had downplayed their availability, suggesting that public perceptions were overrating the chances of a pitcher like Burnes to be traded. In the meantime, the Giants did trade for 2021 American League Cy Young winner Robbie Ray, but he is coming off UCL surgery and in a far different conversation to Burnes.
If the Giants were interested in Burnes, shortstop Marco Luciano (Giants Top 3 Prospect) and left-handed pitcher Carson Whisenhunt (Giants Top 6 Prospect) are both ranked higher than the Orioles prospects who were traded that play the same position. While the Giants are unable to trade an equally equivalent draft pick, it's easy to envision finding another mid-tier prospect to eclipse that value.
Moreover, while the Giants are heavily reliant on Luciano to be the team's shortstop next season, the Brewers also have shortstop Willy Adames, who will be a free agent next offseason, like Burnes. It stands to reason that he will be traded in the next few months as well. Perhaps the Giants could have used Luciano and Whisenhunt as the foundation of a package for both players. Granted, that's far more speculative.
Regardless, Adames now seems like a highly coveted player on the trade market who could address multiple needs for the SF Giants. Acquiring Adames would lessen the pressure on Luciano to stick at shortstop and adjust to big-league pitching right away. Moreover, he would immediately strengthen the middle of the team's lineup.
