THE Baltimore Orioles have the difficult misfortune this offseason of boasting one of the most sought-after players in all of free agency on their current roster.

Right-handed pitcher Corbin Burnes is set to hit the open market just one year after Baltimore acquired the 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner of the Milwaukee Brewers in a blockbuster deal. Now, after another season that ended with a playoff sweep in another stellar year for Burnes, every team in the league that wants a starting pitcher is going to pursue him.

Well expected to land a contract exceeding the $200 million mark, Burnes has established himself as one of the best pitchers on the planet and has just turned 30 years old. The Orioles will have the opportunity to step up and make a big offer to the superstar ace, but the question is whether they can keep up with the endless amount of money that the biggest teams in baseball have. have to offer. Jon Heyman of the New York Post predicted that Burnes would land a seven-year, $210 million contract and have a market that included all the usual suitors.

“The Orioles will try to keep him, but it will probably be difficult with at least Yankees, Dishes and other major teams involved,” Heyman wrote. “All high-revenue teams in the AL East as well as the Giants And Dodgers are expected to play for the Southern California product.

Burnes is coming off another fantastic season and enters free agency at the perfect time. The ace will finish in the top ten in Cy Young voting for the fifth year in a row and moves into a market where he is the biggest name. With the best teams in baseball hungry to spend money and always looking to add elite starting pitchers, the chances of Burnes receiving an outright mega-deal are high.

Sure, that’s bad news for a Baltimore team that’s probably willing to do whatever it takes to keep him, but it could end up being deep. ownership and management are not comfortable to wade in. A long winter chess match is about to begin, and the Orioles hope to be more than just a pawn in Burnes’ free agency plans.