The Milwaukee Brewers abruptly traded Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles on the first day of February. Seeing him be traded prior to hitting free agency was not surprising, but timing wise there were some mixed signals because Matt Arnold had just announced an exciting signing of first baseman Rhys Hoskins.
Who did the Milwaukee Brewers receive from the Baltimore Orioles in the Corbin Burnes trade?
From the Burnes trade the Brewers received two MLB players in LHP DL Hall and INF Joey Ortiz. Both are pre-artbitration players and should have big league roles with Milwaukee in 2024. Hall has the potential to be a staple in their rotation for years to come and Ortiz was an overlooked prospect in a loaded Orioles farm system. In addition to these two players Milwaukee received the Orioles 2024 34th overall draft pick.
After the Corbin Burnes trade the Milwaukee Brewers made two free agent signings.
The first player signed following the Burnes trade was RHP Jakob Junis. He is an experienced versatile pitcher who has operated as both a starter and reliever throughout his career. His slider is filthy, he excels at limiting walks, and Milwaukee will be counting on him to effectively fill innings in 2024.
Secondly the Brewers signed catcher Gary Sanchez. This home run threat should provide middle of the lineup pop to an offensive that struggled to hit long balls a season ago. Throughout nine MLB seasons his floor has been 16 home runs in a single season and his maximum 34 (excluding the shortened 2020 season).
How much money did the Brewers spend on these players?
As mentioned Hall and Ortiz pre-arbitration players and will be making $720,000 in 2024. Both Junis and Sanchez signed contracts guaranteeing them $7 million in total with options for the 2025 season. All this money equates to $15.44 million and Burnes was previously signed for $15.63 million.
All that being said Mark Attanasio and Matt Arnold elected to essentially reinvest Corbin Burnes initial 2024 salary into this year’s ball club. They did this all in less than a week as the Sanchez signing was reported on February 7.
