The Baltimore Oriols have just announced another unexpected great signing…
You could pretty well assume that Corbin Burnes, who the Orioles acquired from the Brewers, would start the Opening Day game. When it was discovered that Kyle Bradish, the only other contender who seemed even somewhat likely, was hurt, this became an absolute certainty. Manager Brandon Hyde officially announced on Sunday morning that Burnes will receive the ball in the opening game, with just eighteen days until the season starts.
Burnes is a level of pitcher that Orioles fans haven’t seen on our favorite team in a long time, even if it shouldn’t come as a surprise. Since Pat Hentgen started on Opening Day in 2001 despite joining as a free agency the previous offseason, the franchise has not had a past Cy Young winner start the game.
Before joining the Orioles and starting that first game, Hentgen had three lackluster seasons in a row, coming off of his Cy Young-winning season five years earlier. Hentgen’s first outing went rather well; in 8.2 innings, he allowed just one run—a single home run—as the O’s defeated the Red Sox. Before getting hurt and having his season end in mid-May, he had a string of excellent starts. The 2001 Orioles finished with a 63-98 record, so more than simply a healthy Hentgen was required for Cal Ripken Jr.’s final season to go well.
In comparison, Burnes won the NL Cy Young Award just three years ago. Although he hasn’t quite matched his 2021 brilliance, Burnes has remained a reliable pitcher with above-average performance. Watching what he does this season excites me. In order to prepare for that Opening Day start, he will be making his most recent spring tune-up appearance in Sarasota this afternoon.
Burnes will start for his squad on Opening Day for the third straight season. These two earlier ones were for Milwaukee. In the last eight seasons, this is the seventh different Opening Day starter for the Orioles. The only repetition within that period comes from John Means making his first start in 2021 and 2022. It’s slightly more entertaining for Burnes to start than it was for Kyle Gibson last year. As far as we know, Gibson’s tenure as the team’s top starter helped the 2023 Orioles succeed.
The Orioles can now focus on determining who will cover the remaining innings in the rotation, with Burnes officially scheduled to start the season. Tyler Wells and Julio Teheran will start the O’s next two spring games on Monday and Tuesday, so it’s safe to assume that the team isn’t just going through its pitchers in the order they’ll be used in the regular season.
The Orioles will need to decide who will man the back end after Grayson Rodriguez and Dean Kremer are expected to start at #2 and #3. Pitching the opposite half of the Orioles split team this afternoon is Albert Suárez, who may surprise everyone with his early spring training performance. Wells and Teheran are two of those candidates.
Assuming Means and Bradish are prepared to return on our current projected timelines, the Orioles will then need to determine who gets squeezed out once the season gets underway. Bradish appears to be six weeks behind Means, who is reportedly a month behind the other starting pitchers. We’ll deal with the issue eventually.
