Baltimore Orioles Predicted To Replace Corbin Burnes With World Series Champ

At this stage in the offseason, the Baltimore Orioles are in a strange spot. There aren’t many more options for them to pursue, and unless they find a trade candidate for an ace-caliber arm, things might only get worse.

With limited options available, the logical thing to do would be to sign Jack Flaherty. Flaherty pitched for the Orioles in 2023, and despite how poorly he threw the baseball during his short stint with the team, he bounced back massively in 2024, playing a significant part in a World Series team. 

Flaherty is a tough player to evaluate, and his short stint in Baltimore was certainly the worst of his career and is worrisome for the front office if they want to sign him. But there’s reason to believe he’s much better than that nine-game sample size.

Throughout his career, he’s a 3.63-ERA arm, and his strikeout stuff was better than ever in 2024. 

According to Katie Woo of The Athletic, the Orioles have an interest in bringing him back, and the right-hander is also interested in a reunion. She pointed out his numbers in Baltimore — a 6.75 ERA and the highest hits-per-nine-inning rate of his career (11.9).

“Still, according to league sources, both sides would be open to a reunion after Flaherty’s bounce-back season,” Woo wrote.

Where the market stands, the chances of Flaherty returning to Baltimore seem higher than they did a few weeks ago. Many of the top starters on the market have already joined a new team, leaving him as one of the lone top-of-the-line starters available.

Given that the Orioles need that type of arm, R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports predicted that will happen, though he believes that Flaherty would be smart to wait until Japanese free agent Roki Sasaki settles on a team, which won’t be until after at least Jan. 15. At that point, he may have more suitors.

“I think a reunion with Baltimore makes a lot of sense on paper as well, in part because Flaherty doesn’t require draft-pick compensation,” he wrote.

If Flaherty throws the baseball how we did throughout last season, Baltimore should be in a better position with its rotation. If he throws the baseball as he did in 2022 and 2023, things could get ugly.

That was the risk they took when they allowed Corbin Burnes to walk. The only other way to replace him would be by making another blockbuster deal, but there aren’t many starters available on the trade front.

Flaherty, as of now, would be the best option.