Rumor: Corbin Burnes to the Red Sox?

Yesterday, I wrote about a rumor of Shane Bieber being traded to the Red Sox in exchange for Alex Verdugo and Wilyer Abreu. Late yesterday, another rumor was thrown out there as it is rumor season, and the Red Sox are known as the interest kings; this trade has the Red Sox acquiring Corbin Burnes from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for Jarren Duran and Nick Yorke. So, let’s take a look at the stats.

Corbin Burnes

Burnes, in 2023, made 32 starts, going 10-8 with a 3.39 ERA; he posted a 3.81 FIP, a 1.06 WHIP, a 1.0 HR/9, a 3.1 BB/9, a 9.3 K/9, and was a 3.6 WAR. Burnes won the NL Cy Young in 2021, making 28 starts; he went 11-5 with a 2.43 ERA, a 1.63 FIP, a 0.94 WHIP, a 0.4 HR/9, a 1.8 BB/9, a 12.6 K/9 and was a 5.3 WAR. Overall in his career, he has combined to make 167 appearances, with 106 of those coming as starts, going 45-27 with a 3.26 ERA, a 3.11 FIP, a 1.05 WHIP, a 1.0 HR/9, a 2.6 BB/9, an 11.0 K/9, and a career 13.4 WAR.

Jarren Duran

Duran had a breakout season in 2023, playing in 102 games, and he slashed .295/.346/.482 with a .828 OPS; he had 34 doubles, two triples, eight home runs, 40 RBI, 46 runs scored, 24 stolen bases, 24 walks and was a 2.2 WAR. In his career, Duran has played in 193 games, slashing .258/.309/.420 with a .729 OPS; he has 51 doubles, seven triples, 13 home runs, 67 RBI, 86 runs scored, 33 stolen bases, 42 walks, and a WAR of 1.4.

Nick Yorke

Yorke was drafted 17th overall by the Red Sox in the 202 draft. This season, he played 110 games at Double-A Portland, slashing .268/.350/.435 with a .785 OPS; he had 25 doubles, five triples, 13 home runs, 61 RBI, 74 runs scored, 18 stolen bases and 51 walks.

Bottom Line:

The Red Sox are just the interest Kings; this won’t be the last rumor we hear this offseason, and you can expect to hear the Red Sox were in on so and so player a lot. I personally like the idea of acquiring Burnes but do not like the idea of giving up Duran. The Red Sox have a crowded outfield, and one of them needs to go, so it does make sense; it’ll be interesting to see over the next couple of months what the roster looks like on Opening Day in 2024.