The next week, they traded away their top starting pitcher, dealing 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes to the Orioles on Thursday for infielder Joey Ortiz — No. 63 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects list — along with left-handed pitcher DL Hall and the No. 34 selection in next year’s Draft.
Understanding that dichotomy is to understand the job of Brewers GM Matt Arnold, who is ever balancing the aim to extend the longest stretch of sustained success in franchise history, with five postseason berths in the past six years, and the need to continue stocking baseball’s No. 3-ranked farm system with elite, controllable, Major League-ready talent. And with Burnes on track to reach free agency after the conclusion of the 2024 World Series, the Brewers deemed it the smart time to do the latter.
“I think there’s a lot of different paths that the offseason can take,” Arnold said at the start of this week while helping to introduce Hoskins. “We have to stay nimble. I think that’s something that’s important. When there are opportunities, we want to try to strike. Adding veteran players here that can help us this year, extending somebody like Jackson Chourio, that shows that we’re committed to winning here long-term.
“We’re trying to do both, right? And so those are certainly tricky, but again, by adding these types of players like Hoskins’, certainly, we want to try to be competitive this year as much as we possibly can.”
Sometimes, Arnold argues, the effort to remain competitive means making a difficult subtraction. That is certainly the case with Burnes, one of baseball’s true No. 1 starters in his prime at age 29. He owns the second-highest fWAR (17.9) in MLB over the past four seasons and the second-best ERA as a qualifying Brewers starter in franchise history (2.43).
Milwaukee’s return in the deal is “two talented young Major League-ready players along with a valuable 2024 Draft pick,” said Arnold. “We expect both DL and Joey to have an impact on our 2024 season and beyond. We are excited to add them both to the Brewers family.”
Arnold added, “Corbin was a tremendous part of our recent seasons of success, and we appreciate all he contributed to the organization over the years. We wish him and his family the very best going forward.”
Hall, 25, was the 21st overall pick in the 2017 Draft, who ranked outside of MLB Pipeline’s updated Top 100 but did fit into Baseball America’s Top 100 list at 93rd overall. Hall has a 3.49 ERA in 96 career Minor League games, including 81 starts, while holding opponents to a .198 batting average with 499 strikeouts in 353 1/3 innings. Hall pitched parts of the past two seasons (2022-23) in the Major Leagues with the Orioles, with 42 strikeouts in 33 innings over 28 relief appearances and one start. Hall made his postseason debut in the 2023 American League Division Series against the Rangers and struck out six of the 12 batters he faced.
Ortiz, 25, was the Orioles’ fourth-round pick in 2019 from New Mexico State. A right-handed hitter, he’s slashed .285/.357/.449 over his four Minor League seasons including a 321/.378/.507 clip last season at Triple-A Norfolk, with nine home runs, 58 RBIs and 11 stolen bases in 88 games. He made his Major League debut late in the season, including 11 starts that spanned second base, third base and shortstop.
To make room on the 40-man roster, the Brewers designated former first-round Draft pick Ethan Small for assignment. Small is a left-handed pitcher who converted to the bullpen at the end of 2022.
