3 Most Likely Teams Milwaukee Brewers Could Trade Corbin Burnes To
The Milwaukee Brewers have the most-wanted pitcher on MLB’s trade market this offseason: Corbin Burnes.
Burnes will head to arbitration for the final time this Winter before hitting unrestricted free agency at 30 years old next offseason. He’s projected to earn around $15 million in 2024. That makes him a prime trade candidate for the Brewers, who will be unable to pay him his market rate next year. Milwaukee could receive a haul by trading him now and giving his new team a whole year to convince him to re-sign.
Burnes is a three-time All-Star and won the Cy Young in 2021. Since his breakout campaign in 2020, he’s posted a 2.85 ERA while striking out over 30 percent of his batters and walking just seven percent. He’s also almost always healthy, pitching 622.1 innings since 2020 and only landing on the injured list once.
Those are all reasons for teams to vie for his services. Here are the three most likely teams to trade for him.
If the Milwaukee Brewers decided to move on from Corbin Burnes this offseason, which seems inevitable, here are their three most likely trade partners.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Yes, the Dodgers just signed Shoei Ohtani to a record-setting contract. There’s only one problem: He just underwent Tommy John Surgery in September and will be unlikely to pitch in 2024. That means Los Angeles still needs a starting pitcher.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal speculated Milwaukee could trade Burnes and shortstop Willy Adames as a package to the Dodgers. Whether that idea has legs remains to be seen. However, Los Angeles has a nice package of prospects and pro-ready players they could send to the Brewers and the appetite to swallow the salary.
New York Mets
David Stearns’s presence with the New York Mets makes them a natural candidate to trade for Burnes. Stearns was reportedly in the hunt for Craig Counsell before falling short and is very familiar with Burnes’ game. The Mets are looking to bounce back after a disappointing 2023 campaign, and Burnes could help jumpstart their season.
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New York Yankees
The New York Yankees will likely turn to free agency first to find an ace. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is probably the only other candidate they’re interested in. He’s 25 years old and is coming over from the Japan Pacific League with a 1.21 ERA and 0.88 WHIP last year. He’s widely considered the second-best free agent pitcher available behind Ohtani. However, if the Yankees strike out, Burnes would easily be the best pitcher available in either the trade or free agent markets.