The No. 1 prospect will play a ton in Grapefruit League action, which begins Saturday, and have a chance to make an impression with every ground ball, at-bat or dugout conversation he has.
The Orioles have more star power than they’ve had in years at the Ed Smith Stadium complex, both on the roster and off it, but it will take the entirety of that group to get them to the World Series.
Bobby Witt Jr. reached an extension with the Royals for 11 years and $288.8 million, and it can go for longer. Naturally, with a group led by billionaire David Rubenstein buying a stake in the Orioles, fans will wonder about deals for Gunnar Henderson and Jackson Holliday.
One year of Burnes at $15.6 million, provided he’s healthy, is the definition of value, especially when he’s being added to a rotation that already features emerging stars Kyle Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez.
For years, the stadium lease and MASN dispute were at least plausible motivations behind the team keeping its payroll at the bottom of the league. Now, we’re about to find out just how relevant those factors really were.
The Orioles of a previous vintage used deferrals to keep the mid-2010s competitive window open. Chris Davis’ contract is, obviously, is the most extreme example.
There’s a chance, albeit not a great one, that this will be the first of many expenditures to give the Orioles a payroll more representative of a team with their aspirations.
One-year deals might not be the highest upside plays, but they often fill a need, have little long-term ramifications on roster construction, and allow flexibility in other areas.
The Orioles continue to build their proverbial chip pile as they wait to decide which hand to play. Eventually, it will be time to push those chips in — even the ones who agreed to inexpensive contracts at the non-tender deadline.
“I think the same methodologies and brainpower and people that have gotten us through this rebuild are very much equipped to tackle the project of sort of keeping the team at the top,” Elias said.
Mike Elias said the Orioles’ swift playoff exit would inform how he and the front office think about improving this winter. But then he offered a caveat.