After an incredible Opening Day performance, Corbin Burnes looks like everything the Orioles could have wanted out of a starting pitcher and then some.
The trade for Burnes was the biggest move the Orioles made this past offseason. Former big league outfielder and current ESPN analyst Doug Glanville believes Burnes could be the piece that pushes the Orioles over the top as a World Series-caliber team.
Burnes put on quite the show during his March 28 Opening Day assignment against the Los Angles Angels. Outside of allowing a Mike Trout solo home run in the first inning, Burnes was nothing short of dominant. The 6-foot-3, 246-pound right-hander allowed one run in six innings with 11 strikeouts.
Glanville credits the Orioles’ front office for getting this deal done.
“I was like, ‘Wow, that is a great pickup, a great pickup.’ You don’t find a guy in that situation where he’s available and he’s an innings guy. He strikes out [a lot of hitters]. He’s got command. He’s a great pitcher, a great pitcher,” Glanville said on Glenn Clark Radio March 29. “Yeah, I thought that was such an incredibly savvy move by the front office and they played it out and they were able to make a move.”
Glanville believes Burnes provides something the Orioles have not had in decades. The analyst thinks Burnes is a game-changer for the franchise in terms of his remarkable inning-eating capabilities. In his eight-year career, the 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner has put up a 3.25 career ERA, 881 strikeouts and a 1.05 WHIP in 715.1 innings pitched.
Glanville believes Burnes is a dominant, ace-level starter who will not only help shut down opposing offenses but save a bullpen as well.
“It’s not because these guys go nine [innings]. That’s not the game anymore, but what it is, is that they go six,” Glanville said. “They put you in a position to win and they set up your bullpen as in the roles of 7, 8, 9, but they also save your bullpen because the next start the next game, now you’re not taxed because someone went two and a third. That is what Burnes does and it’s just a game-changer.”
Glanville described the Orioles as one of a few “fun-to-watch teams” in his coverage of MLB. Given the Orioles’ plethora of young stars like Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson, Glanville believes that Burnes has added greater fire to this red-hot team and has made this enjoyable team all the more exciting across the board.
Following the loss of star closer Félix Bautista, the bullpen is one of the biggest potential issues observers see. While the front office could look to reinforce the bullpen throughout the season, Glanville believes the acquisition Burnes will help ease the potential strain in the Birds’ bullpen.
“It’s really hard to rely on these guys day in and day out.” Glanville said. “As I mentioned, when you have a Burnes, you don’t necessarily blow out your bullpen all the time. So that’s a big thing, too.”
Glanville noted the 2023 World Series champion Texas Rangers struggled out of the bullpen for much of the season but had relievers step up in October. Similarly, the Orioles will be looking for new contributors throughout the 2024 season.
“A lot of guys seemingly came out of nowhere for Baltimore last year. So, who’s that guy? Who’s the next one to fill in? And then you just evaluate in July and say, ‘Well, OK, we need to make a move.’ Maybe they don’t and somebody emerges,” Glanville said. “That’s a fun team, and they’re also going to score runs. That’s going to also help a lot because you can kind of do the ‘Bash Brothers’ thing and be in a good position to win games and set up your bullpen in a different way.”
Yet Glanville believes the biggest obstacle in the Orioles winning a World Series is their own division. The American League East is a division full of tough teams in the Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, so it will be no cakewalk for the Orioles to make it to the playoffs. But if the Orioles can make it through the gauntlet that is the AL East, Glanville believes the Orioles will be more than ready to succeed this year in the playoffs and make a play at winning it all.
“I think that entire division is a nightmare, quite frankly. I guess if there’s a concern, it’s you could still play really well and still lose to these teams. So, they’ve got to get in there,” Glanville said. “And I feel like with the Orioles from last year, just getting in and getting back there and not wanting to get wiped out like [against] the Rangers, that’s a lot of motivation and they’re just a year more experienced. That’s what makes them so fun.”
For more from Glanville, listen to the full interview here:
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