Orioles name Corbin Burnes Opening Day starter

SARASOTA, Fla. – The assumption became official this morning.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde announced that Corbin Burnes will start Opening Day against the Angels at Camden Yards.

Who else could have received the honor?

Burnes stood on the mound for the last two openers with the Brewers, and he was the obvious choice again after the Orioles acquired him on Feb. 1 for pitcher DL Hall, shortstop Joey Ortiz and the 34^th overall pick in the upcoming draft.

“Take all the guesswork out of that,” Hyde said, smiling.

“A real honor for me to let him know. We’ve been talking about it for a while and we’re excited to watch him pitch on Opening Day.”

Burnes saw it coming, of course. And not only because of his resume. The spring schedule lined up for him to be the guy.

“We talked about when we first traded for him was pretty much he was going to be starting on Opening Day, so it wasn’t like an enormous surprise," Hyde said. "I just called him this morning and let him know that I was going to tell you guys (media). But it’s not something to be taken for granted. It’s a really cool moment for anybody to be able to have that sort of honor and I know he’s very appreciative.”

Andrew Cashner started Hyde’s first Opening Day as a manager in 2019 because Alex Cobb was injured. Tommy Milone was handed the ball in 2020 because John Means had a tired arm.

Means made back-to-back starts in 2021-22, and Kyle Gibson started last year’s opener while Means recovered from reconstructive elbow surgery.

Burnes won the Cy Young in 2021 and has finished in the top eight in voting four times. He’s a three-time All-Star, and a bold statement acquisition by an organization that is trying to win the World Series.

“He’s been wonderful,” Hyde said. “He’s been more than advertised since he’s been here. He’s just been an incredible teammate, he’s been amazing in our clubhouse, he’s a leader, and to have someone with that sort of ability and track record pitch a lot for us and pitch on Opening Day, we’re really excited.”

Both of Burnes’ Opening Day starts happened at Wrigley Field. He allowed three runs in five innings on April 7, 2022 and four runs in five innings on March 30, 2023.

The Orioles, who begin their season March 28, didn’t have a former Cy Young Award winner start on Opening Day since Pat Hentgen in 2001. Their last Cy Young recipient was Steve Stone in 1980.

“He’s obviously an ace starter, won a Cy Young, so that’s what you want, and hopefully a Game 1 start in the postseason,” infielder Gunnar Henderson said earlier in camp. “I’m really looking forward to that.”

“I think someone like him, each year he provides a lot of innings,” said Tyler Wells, “but on top of all that too, he’s extremely competitive, and all those innings that he goes out and accumulates are competitive. I think it just really ups our level compared to last year.”

“Obviously, Corbin’s a really good starter and we’re excited to have him,” said outfielder Ryan McKenna. “I think it’s a big piece that we were looking to go after. I was happy to see that we executed, and I’ve only heard good things about him.

Burnes started the first exhibition game and is on the mound today in a split-squad game against the Blue Jays. He’s allowed three runs and four hits with one walk and five strikeouts over 2 2/3 innings.

Having Burnes on the club is “huge for us,” said first baseman Ryan O’Hearn.

“Just to have a bona fide guy like that, an ace, somebody that you can count on to go deep in the game every five days. … Happy he’s on our team.

“I think it just shows the commitment to making the team better than it was last year. We had a pretty good team last year, obviously, but love that the front office is trying to make it better and go further.”

Wells starts Tuesday against the Rays in Sarasota. He’s made one Grapefruit League appearance, tossing two scoreless innings on March 1.

Relievers listed behind Burnes today include Dillon Tate, Andrew Suárez, Jonathan Heasley and Luis González. Relievers behind Albert Suárez in Dunedin include Chayce McDermott, Kaleb Ort and Nick Vespi.