The Milwaukee Brewers are in the midst of a lot of changes throughout their team as they are losing a few key players. With Brandon Woodruff already non-tendered, they need to have some players step up and it sounds like former NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes is going to be staying put instead of the Milwaukee Brewers electing to trade him away.
Brewers 'expected' to keep Corbin Burnes instead of finding a trade, per @BNightengale pic.twitter.com/5o4gFDPRYr
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) December 10, 2023
Corbin Burnes is in the final arbitration season before being an unrestricted free agent during the next offseason. It is estimated that Burnes will make $14.1 million this season but arbitration could be a major factor. At that number, he would be the 30th-highest starting pitcher in baseball in terms of 2024 salary and only behind left fielder Christian Yelich ($26.0 million) for the Milwaukee Brewers.
It was rumored that Burnes could be available on the trade market and while this does not mean he is officially off the trading block, this signifies that teams are not willing to meet whatever price the Milwaukee Brewers have placed on him. It seems to be a buyer’s market right now in Major League Baseball after seeing the package that outfielder Juan Soto returned.
This will be interesting as Corbin Burnes is coming off a season where he finished eighth in the NL Cy Young race as he was 10-8 with a 3.39 ERA with 200 strikeouts in 193.2 innings of work.
Should the Milwaukee Brewers trade away Corbin Burnes this offseason?
If the Milwaukee Brewers are unable to have a conversation with their ace starting pitcher and ask if he would want an extension, they need to trade him before the season starts. The team needs to make sure they do not make the same mistake the Los Angeles Angels just did with Shohei Ohtani where they left the team as a free agent to join the Los Angeles Dodgers instead of trading him away and getting something more than a compensatory pick for him.
The Brewers are in a position where they are not the favorites to win the NL Central right now by the sportsbooks and are dealing with some changes. Currently, they are behind the St. Louis Cardinals for the opening odds for the division. However, it is an open race right now and they are coming off winning the division.
If you are in the same ballpark monetarily, keep Burnes until the Trade Deadline as if the Brew Crew happens to be out of the race, he will likely be the best available pitcher anyways and a contender will pay a premium for him.
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1 Comment
Anyone who believed that ANY of the players under team control for 2024 would be traded in the off season has no clue about the inner workings of GMs in sports.
IF the Crew isn’t competitive, those players will be gone at the DEADLINE, when value is usually at its highest (the players want to perform for that next contract and only injury would reduce their value).
This was never going to happen. At least in the minds of intelligent people who actually follow the business side of sports. It wasn’t even remotely within the realm of possibility (unless they had been offered the top 10 minor league players in one of the best systems, an offer too ridiculous for any other GM to make).
It’s all media manufactured drama with no evidence.