Breaking: Orioles Draw a Line in the Sand: Baltimore Refuses to Forfeit Draft Picks for Pitcher
The Baltimore Orioles have been very active so far this offseason, but there is still a lot of work to do.
Coming into the offseason, the Orioles knew that they would have some big decisions to make with two of their key players being free agents. With both Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander being on the open market, keeping both wasn’t going to be realistic for Baltimore.
While neither has signed yet, the total value of both of their potential contracts could be north of $300 million. The Orioles have already started to spend a little bit this offseason on free agents with new ownership taking over, but that would be a big number.
So far, Baltimore has already likely replaced Santander with the addition of Tyler O’Neill in free agency. However, Burnes is still available, and they have to either trade or sign a pitcher near his quality.
Recently, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com wrote about the Orioles’ unwillingness to sign players that would cost them draft compensation. Which takes a couple of starting pitchers out of the mix for them.
“Baltimore does not want to forfeit a draft pick by signing a starter saddled with a qualifying offer (Manaea and Pivetta)”
With Baltimore being unwilling to forfeit a draft pick, that really limits what they can do in free agency. Since their ace is still on the market, he should probably still be their top priority. However, it seems unlikely that they will get to the number that the talented right-hander is looking for.
