Baltimore Orioles Targets Max Fried, Corbin Burnes Expected To Get Huge Deals

The Baltimore Orioles' two primary starting pitching targets will benefit from previous starting pitchers signing for big money.

Sep 20, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles pitcher Corbin Burnes (39) throws a third-inning pitch against the Detroit Tigers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles are interested in re-signing right-hander Corbin Burnes, a move that would keep their World Series window open for the foreseeable future if other moves are correctly made.

Burnes is expected to be the highest-paid pitcher on the market this winter, and with the other deals given to starters in recent weeks, his market only looks stronger than it did a few months ago. 

Coming into the campaign, there was an expectation around Major League Baseball that Burnes could be looking at a deal as high as $200 million in the following offseason. Instead of $200 million, many expect that deal to now be around $250 million, a contract that would put him in the upper tier of deals around Major League Baseball. 

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Burnes and Max Fried, another starter the Orioles have been interested in, have seen their stocks rise thanks to the other contracts given out.

He added three teams that could be interested in both pitchers, and they're three of the last teams Baltimore ever wants to see interested in free agents they want. 

"They haven't thrown a pitch in more than two months, but their stocks have soared thanks to the contracts given to pitchers whose resumes pale in comparison. When Matthew Boyd receives a 2-year, $29 million contract without throwing more than 79 innings since 2019, when Luis Severino is getting $67 million over three years and Blake Snell is making an average annual salary of $36.4 million, Burnes and Fried should top $200 million. The San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox all lurk."

Stick with the New York Yankees, for example.

After losing Juan Soto, they have a lot of money to spend and a clear need to improve their roster. Losing Burnes to the Yankees wouldn't just be a tough blow because they'd lose their ace, but it'd also be a disaster that they'd have to face him multiple times throughout the regular season and could potentially lose the division because of him.

New York just became one of the more intriguing landing spots for any player in the game, making them real threats to the Orioles.

It remains uncertain if Burnes wants to pitch in a big market similar to New York City, but given the teams that are interested in him are mostly big markets, it seems like he'll end up in one if he doesn't return to Baltimore.