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After the Los Angeles Dodgers captured the World Series, the focus of the baseball world turned directly toward free agency and figuring out who would be on a new team this season.
The free agent class was loaded with talent: Christian Walker, Juan Soto, Anthony Santander, Alex Bregman, etc. Soto was probably the main focus of the offseason, but closely behind him was right-hander Corbin Burnes.
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Burnes spent all of last season with the Orioles and after a playoff push from Baltimore, it felt like the Orioles were in a really good position to do something out of the ordinary and spend big-time money on a free agent to help themselves. That ultimately did not happen, and Burnes signed a six-year deal worth $210 million with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
After seeing the amount of money Burnes was given, it was clear the Orioles were never going to match that. However, as recently reported by MASN’s Roch Kubatko, Baltimore wasn’t quite that far off.
Kubatko reported that the final offer from the Orioles to Burnes was a four-year deal worth $180 million. While that is less than the Diamondbacks’ $210 million, it is more AAV ($45 million per year) than the Arizona contract ($35 million per year) that Burnes eventually signed.
That goes to show Baltimore was much closer to signing Burnes than originally thought and with an AAV of $10 million per year higher, the Orioles could’ve very well been the favorites at one point in time. Ultimately, Burnes wanted to be close to home and he chose the Diamondbacks.
The reports of Baltimore’s willingness to try and spend money on a big-name free agent could play a factor in players potentially wanting to play for the Orioles in the future.
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