Last offseason, the Milwaukee Brewers traded franchise legend Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles. With Burnes heading into a contract year (2024), the Brewers didn’t want to risk losing him for nothing.

In addition to trading Burnes, the Brewers also faced significant attrition among the pitching staff. Brandon Woodruff was lost for the season with a shoulder issue while Robert Gasser and Wade Miley underwent Tommy John surgeries.

Even so, the Brewers still found themselves in a familiar place: the playoffs, after winning the National League Central. The move also worked out well for Burnes, who became the ace of the Orioles staff and led them to the playoffs as well.

Burnes also made personal history in 2024, as Sarah Langs of MLB.com noted this week:

The ace entered the season with 870 career strikeouts in 709 1/3 innings. He reached 1,000 in the third inning on August 4, when he struck out Lane Thomas for the second out. Burnes got there in 850 2/3 innings, the fourth fewest innings among pitchers who started in at least 50 percent of their appearances by the time of their 1,000th strikeout, according to Elias. He trails only Robbie Ray (810 IP), Yu Darvish (812 IP) and Blake Snell (820 2/3 IP).

In addition to recording his 1,000th strikeout, Burnes went 15-9 with a 2.92 ERA for the Orioles. A four-time All-Star and former Cy Young winner, he spent six years with the Brewers and one year with Baltimore.

He is now the largest unsigned free agent remaining on the market.

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