Former Orioles Ace Reveals Why He Turned Down Team’s Offer in Free Agency

A former Baltimore Orioles ace left this offseason, and just revealed a key reason for his decision.

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Corbin Burnes warms up before facing the Milwaukee Brewers in the first inning of a spring training game on Feb. 26, 2025, in Scottsdale at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. | Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles saw an ace leave the team this past offseason and he just revealed one of the main reasons why he didn't come back.

Orioles fans everywhere wanted the new ownership to dig into their pockets to bring Corbin Burnes back this past offseason. He was fantastic last year and they were (still are) in desperate need of a top-end arm.

Instead, they saw Burnes accept a six-year, $180 million offer from the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was always unknown just how close Baltimore got to bringing the pitcher back, but now it has been confirmed.

MLB.com Baltimore insider Jake Rill shared comments from the ace during an interview on Tuesday.

“Dollars here were more than what they were there in the offers," he said. "I just don’t think that we necessarily matched up on the years that it was going to take.”

Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports followed that up by revealing that the Orioles offer to Burnes was four years, $180 million.

That means that Baltimore were willing to give him four years at a higher AAV, but the Diamondbacks gave him the longer-term deal with six years. Rill added that the Orioles might have been willing to go to five years, but it doesn't look like six was an option.

The fact that Baltimore was willing to get up to $45 million in AAV is a promising sign, at least, but it does hurt that it wasn't enough to get the pitcher back into an Orioles uniform.

Now Burnes is in Arizona for the rest of his prime and Baltimore is putting up a pitching staff without a true ace.

The 30-year-old has had an uneven start to his time with the Diamondbacks, though, which could have the Orioles front office smiling if they are a petty bunch.

He posted a 5.06 ERA this spring and has a 5.79 ERA in the regular season with 11 hits, six runs and seven walks surrendered in 9.1 innings pitched.

While he will likely be still be an elite pitcher by season's end, this isn't the beginning that Arizona wanted from their over $200 million investment.

Now, the staff ace for Baltimore is the veteran Zach Eflin, who has a 3.00 ERA over his first three starts.

Eflin is currently dealing with an injury, which could add to the frustration with the Orioles not making any major pitching moves this offseason.

Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano were the additions that they did make, neither being near the caliber of player that Burnes is at this point in their careers.