BREAKING: The Milwaukee Brewers quickly add four MLB players to replace Corbin Burnes’ $15 million salary.

On February 1st, the Milwaukee Brewers traded Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles without warning. It was expected that he would be traded before he could sign a free agent, but there were conflicting signals regarding the timing as Matt Arnold had just revealed the exciting signing of first baseman Rhys Hoskins.

In exchange for Corbin Burnes, who did the Baltimore Orioles send to the Milwaukee Brewers?

The Brewers acquired two MLB players in LHP DL Hall and INF Joey Ortiz from the Burnes trade. Both are players who should be in the major leagues with Milwaukee in 2024 because they are pre-arbitration. While Ortiz was an underappreciated prospect in a strong Orioles farm system, Hall has the potential to be a mainstay in their rotation for many years to come. Milwaukee also acquired the 34th overall draft pick of the Orioles in 2024 in addition to these two players.

Two free agents were signed by the Milwaukee Brewers following the trade of Corbin Burnes.

RHP Jakob Junis was the first player signed after the Burnes trade. Throughout his career, he has functioned as a starter and a reliever, demonstrating his versatility as an experienced pitcher. Milwaukee will be depending on him to efficiently fill innings in 2024 because of his filthy slider and exceptional walk control.

Second, catcher Gary Sanchez was signed by the Brewers. An offensive line that had trouble hitting long balls in the previous season should benefit from this home run threat in the middle of the lineup. His floor has been 16 home runs in a single season and his maximum of 34 during nine Major League Baseball seasons.

What was the Brewers’ budget for these players?

Hall and Ortiz are pre-arbitration players who will earn $720,000 in 2024, as previously mentioned. Junis and Sanchez each inked deals that include an option for the 2025 season and a total guarantee of $7 million. Burnes was originally signed for $15.63 million, so the sum of all these payments comes to $15.44 million.

Having said that, Matt Arnold and Mark Attanasio decided to practically reinvest Corbin Burnes’ first 2024 salary back into the 2024 ball club. Since the Sancehz signing was announced on February 7, they completed all of this work in less than a week.