The excitement around the Major League Baseball offseason is already swirling as the free agent class is filled with top-end talent.
With offensive players such as Juan Soto, Alex Bregman, and Pete Alonso along with starting pitchers including Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell, Max Fried, and Roki Sasaki, there are plenty of options for teams.
While most of the attention is surrounding Soto and his decision, two teams have emerged to be favorites to land arguably the best-starting pitcher free agent in Burnes.
According to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers are the leading candidates to sign Burnes.
Burnes came into the league in 2018 with the Milwaukee Brewers where he pitched six seasons before going to the Orioles in 2024.
In his first season with the Orioles, Burnes had a record of 15 wins and nine losses with a 2.92 ERA and 181 strikeouts in 194.1 innings pitched.
The Dodgers always seem to be willing to go after the big-name free agents, but the Orioles seem to want to try and keep Burnes around for longer than just one season.
Burnes was likely brought to the Orioles to get them a win in their first postseason game as the ace of their staff.
Although the Orioles lost their first game of the postseason to the Kansas City Royals, it wasn’t because of Burnes’ performance.
Burnes threw eight innings against the Royals allowing just five hits, one earned run, and one walk while striking out three in the one-to-zero loss.
It will be interesting to see if Burnes signs with the reigning World Series champion Dodgers or if he decides to go another route.
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