While Corbin Burnes’ stint with the Orioles was all too brief, it was long enough to leave a rooting interest.

On Sunday afternoon, as Burnes cursed aloud and mouthed “my elbow” to his concerned teammates, plenty of Baltimoreans cursed with him. These days, it feels like even a minor tweak in an elbow eventually leads to a surgeon’s table and a long, arduous recovery.

Though Burnes chose to leave the Orioles this offseason, it’s still a bitter pill to swallow seeing one of baseball’s best pitchers — a guy who was great while he wore orange and black — get waylaid by a possibly serious injury. It’s a gut punch, and a chilling reminder of just how taxing the art of pitching is on the complex, finely tuned anatomy of the human arm.

But one thing it’s not is an excuse.

Beneath the empathy and sincere concern for Burnes might be just a small hint of relief — that the Arizona Diamondbacks’ $210 million contract for the ace is not hanging around the Orioles’ neck. The O’s have had enough bad luck with Tommy John surgeries, from Félix Bautista to Kyle Bradish, and it’s one of the reasons the franchise finds itself mired in the basement of the AL East.

It might feel like the Orioles dodged a bullet by coming up short in their bid for Burnes, who said earlier this season he wanted more years than Baltimore was willing to offer. But hindsight justification for not being more assertive this offseason isn’t the kind of reinforcement this franchise needs.

If you risk little, you gain little. That’s the main reflection the Orioles need to focus on, even in the face of a hypothetical worst-case scenario playing out in Arizona.

The Diamondbacks may end up regretting the price they paid for Burnes, who could miss significant time if this injury is particularly serious. But the Orioles should continue to regret a lack of bold offseason moves, because it’s not as if missing on Burnes (or a viable replacement starter) has put them in any better position than if they had signed him.

Baltimore’s rotation still has the fourth-worst ERA (5.26) and is tied for the fifth-worst WHIP (1.41) in the MLB. Burnes’ start to this season (2.66 ERA, 1.17 WHIP) would have helped a lot. While the Diamondbacks have some ground to make up in the NL West, their 28-31 record as of Monday morning is still stronger than Baltimore’s 22-36 tally.

The Orioles are in no place to feel like they took the better option at their fork in the road. Their outlook for this season is still grim in either scenario. Eking out the season’s first sweep against the White Sox might elicit a bit of relief, but it’s only one small foothold as Baltimore tries to climb out of the sizable hole they’ve dug for themselves.

There is a way of looking at Baltimore’s approach to adding talent as avoiding these cataclysmic events. Ever since extending Chris Davis for a contract that quickly went in the tank, the franchise has been circumspect about each and every deal they award. General manager Mike Elias has only given one multi-year deal to a free agent, outfielder Tyler O’Neill, and even that has a first-year opt-out clause.

Not taking risks has insulated the Orioles from situations like what might be happening in Arizona with Burnes. But it has also kept the team from taking the kind of chances that might have actually maximized this season’s competitive potential.

The Banner reported last month after manager Brandon Hyde was fired that some players felt like the front office could have done them more favors this offseason. A reluctance to go all-in on any one season — using Elias’ common justification that he is trying to manage a multi-season contending window — carries its own kind of weight on the spirit of the clubhouse, a sense that maybe the executives running the team don’t believe in the group as much as they could or should.

There have been no long-term extensions for this team’s young core. Aside from Burnes, there have been few difference-making trade acquisitions (even if we count Zach Eflin, based on results). There haven’t been any life-changing free agents, and some of the biggest names the Orioles have signed in recent years (Craig Kimbrel, Charlie Morton) have had monumental struggles.

The Diamondbacks may be going through heart-wrenching pain that could linger for years, depending on how severe Burnes’ injury is. The Orioles, as constructed, won’t feel that kind of devastation any time soon.

But without any appetite for taking a risk, the Orioles aren’t setting themselves up to feel overwhelming joy, either. Even with the benefit of hindsight, it’s a hard thing to justify.