Burnes locked in for '24: 'I know I've got the stuff'

Sometimes you’re just sitting on the couch at home, watching TV, and your life suddenly changes in a big way.

That’s what happened to former Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes when he found out he had been traded from the only franchise he had ever known to a team with an exciting young core and World Series aspirations.

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“Yeah, I was actually just sitting at home with the wife, watching TV and watching the kid play around,” Burnes said on MLB Network Radio on Saturday. “And got a phone call and before I even answered it, I told my wife, ‘I just got traded.’ She’s like, ‘What?’

“I said, ‘Watch. Just watch.’”

On the other end of the line was Burnes’ future: the Orioles.

“I think I was shocked, just like everybody else was,” he said. “At that point, we were like 12 days away from reporting to camp. Obviously, it came in late in the offseason, but it was exciting to get the news. It’s obviously a great baseball team to be a part of -- an exciting young group. I’m excited to be here.”

The feeling is mutual. The Orioles had long been seeking a frontline starter to complete the puzzle for a serious World Series bid. Burnes certainly fits that category -- since becoming a full-time starter for the Brewers in 2021, he’s posted a 2.94 ERA and has struck out at least 200 batters each season, including that '21 Cy Young Award-winning campaign.

As soon as Burnes got to the Orioles’ Spring Training facility in Sarasota, Fla., his first order of business was getting to know his new batterymates, one of whom is already one of the best catchers in the league as he enters his third Major League season.

“The first relationships I’m establishing are with the catchers,” Burnes said. “With Adley [Rutschman] and [James] McCann. Obviously, those are the guys I’m going to work a ton with in-season, and those are the guys you’ve gotta perform with.”

Burnes also discussed being around his new Orioles teammates on the pitching staff, who have already taken advantage of the wealth of knowledge and experience they suddenly have in the 29-year-old right-hander.

Having established himself as one of the premier starting pitchers in the game, Burnes now imparts wisdom to a youthful group in Baltimore that is looking to do big things in 2024.

“Just getting to know a lot of those young guys,” Burnes said. “They’re full of questions and wanting to know more about the game and about pitching. So we’ve had some great conversations with a lot of those guys.”

Burnes may be fielding questions from his new teammates, but there’s one thing that is unquestionable about what he will bring to the O’s this year.

“I know I’ve got the stuff. I know I’ve got the command and everything to do it,” he said. “So it’s about just being consistent.”

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