Orioles bolster World Series odds with Corbin Burnes trade

The Baltimore Orioles boosted their 2024 prospects on Thursday with a trade for Brewers ace Corbin Burnes.

The move, which sent minor leaguers D.L. Hall and Joey Ortiz to Milwaukee, boosted the Orioles World Series title odds to +1200, on par with the defending champion Texas Rangers for the fifth-best World Series odds behind the Dodgers (+350), Braves (+500), Astros (+800) and Yankees (+900) at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Baltimore had been +1900 to win it all before the trade.

They also nearly halved their odds to win the American League pennant, going from +900 pre-Burnes to +550.

The Burnes addition also upped their preseason win total from 88.5 to 91.5, which trails only the Yankees (93.5) and Astros (92.5) in the AL.

The Orioles are now right on the heels of the Yankees (+120) in terms of their AL East chances, sitting at +240.

Baltimore is coming off a 101-win, AL-East winning season with one of the youngest rosters in baseball.

The franchise came into the offseason with a need at the top of its rotation, and it appeared content to go into the 2024 season without a bonafide ace until Thursday’s blockbuster.

Burnes immediately became one of the favorites to win next year’s AL Cy Young Award.

The right-hander, who won the 2021 award in the NL, is +900 to win his second, this time in the Junior Circuit.

Yankees ace Gerrit Cole remains the favorite to win his second straight AL Cy Young, while Burnes is fourth on the board.

Burnes slots in at the top of an already-deep Orioles rotation, which will include Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez and John Means.

On the offensive side, the Orioles have two top-10 MVP candidates in catcher Adley Rutschman and reigning AL Rookie of the Year Gunnar Henderson.

Baltimore also boasts the best farm system in the league, with baseball’s No. 1 overall prospect Jackson Holliday looming.