What Corbin Burnes Pursuit Would Mean For Red Sox Rotation

The Boston Red Sox headline their offseason needs around finding their next great ace.

Boston relied on a dominant starter to lead the charge in all four of their championship seasons since 2004. The young core and oncoming prospect talent create the path for the Red Sox to end their postseason drought. That’s if the franchise makes the right splash in free agency.

Corbin Burnes is among the top starting pitchers on the market. He’s been there, done that in leading a rotation around the game with the Milwaukee Brewers and the Baltimore Orioles.

The one accolade he’s yet to find in his career? World Series champion.

He could push the Red Sox to that level should he come to Boston.

Now, there are a few concerns with the right-hander. He enters his age-30 season, his strikeout numbers are down, and he will be worth a contract, potentially over $200 million.

If the Red Sox deem him to be worth it, these are the factors that should jump off the page in the team’s pursuit of an ace.

ACE EXPERIENCE
Burnes would enter the biggest market he’s ever pitched in should he come to Boston. That’s significant in an adjustment process that’s been seen before. With that said, Burnes has already been “the guy” elsewhere.

Burnes took home the Cy Young award in 2021 with the Brewers and the Orioles took the initiative to deal for him prior to the 2024 season to lead their young rotation.

Pitching in Boston is a whole different animal, but the Red Sox would get a veteran who knows what it takes to take on the responsibilities of an ace.

INNINGS EATER
Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford and Brayan Bello all made 30 starts for the first time in their careers for the Red Sox. That’s a great development, but having a horse at the top of the rotation takes stress off young arms and allows for further growth from those starters.

Burnes is a certified poster. He’s tallied at least 190 innings across at least 30 starts in each of the last three seasons. That consistency is hard to find across the modern game, making Burnes a unique commodity in this winter’s competitive starting pitching market.

POSTSEASON EXPERIENCE
Burnes met the moment so far in his postseason career. He posted a 2.33 ERA across 27 career innings in the playoffs. The Orioles could not reward him in an excellent start in October against the Kansas City Royals when Burnes delivered eight innings of one-run ball.

That’s a pitcher you should feel more than confident in to give the ball to in Game 1 of a playoff series.