Will FAs Burnes, Santander be back? 'We'll see what happens'

BALTIMORE -- Corbin Burnes walked over to Gunnar Henderson’s locker inside the Orioles’ clubhouse at Camden Yards and pulled him in. Baltimore’s ace gave the club’s star shortstop a hug, while also whispering words -- surely of encouragement -- into his ear.

Burnes then continued to make his rounds, dapping up the pitchers who shared the row of lockers in his corner in the clubhouse.

Meanwhile, nobody could avoid Anthony Santander following the 2-1 loss to the Royals on Wednesday night -- a defeat that came in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series and ended the Orioles’ season. Santander hugged or shook hands with everybody -- teammates, coaches who passed by and members of the media.

Two of Baltimore’s most valuable players during the 2024 season were Burnes and Santander. They’re also the club’s top two pending free agents with uncertain futures.

Surely, everybody on the O’s would like for both to return in 2025. But players also understand the business and know that the sport often comes with saying goodbyes.

“Yeah, could easily be doing that. Those guys have to do what’s best for their families, especially from the free-agent standpoint of it,” center fielder Cedric Mullins said. “But [I’m] always going to cherish those memories with them, and if they come back, I’m looking forward to more memories, for sure.”

Burnes joined the Orioles’ organization on Feb. 1, when the club swung a blockbuster deal to land the 29-year-old right-hander from the Brewers. It parted with infielder Joey Ortiz and left-hander DL Hall -- a pair of promising young players -- but it brought in a bona fide ace to lead its staff.

The 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner was as impressive as advertised. Burnes posted a 2.92 ERA and a 1.096 WHIP over 32 starts, racking up 181 strikeouts in 194 1/3 innings. He was also lights-out in the postseason, tossing eight-plus innings of one-run ball during an 84-pitch gem in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series.

Burnes spent the first six years of his big league career with Milwaukee before coming to Baltimore. Could he envision a reunion with the O’s this offseason?

“We’ll see what happens,” Burnes said. “I haven't thought much about what's going on next. It's going to be a crazy offseason, but still just trying to digest what happened. It was an early exit to what we thought was going to be a long run.”

Santander’s ties to the Orioles run much deeper. The 29-year-old outfielder was in Cleveland’s organization before getting selected by Baltimore in the 2016 Rule 5 Draft. It then took him some time to find his footing at the big league level.

But over the past few years, Santander has become one of the O’s most potent bats in the heart of their order. He slugged 105 home runs over the past three seasons, including a career-high 44 this year.

Santander’s time with the Orioles could be over after 751 games (including five in the postseason).

“Obviously, we don’t know what’s going to happen,” Santander said via team interpreter Brandon Quinones.

No matter what, though, Santander will always have a special place in his heart for Baltimore.

“Just really happy and proud, and I thank this fan base for supporting me and this team for giving me the opportunity to play here all these years,” Santander said.

Both Burnes and Santander are likely to land large contracts in free agency, considering their 2024 success and their track records. It will be interesting to see exactly how much they earn.

It will also be noteworthy to see how the Orioles operate in their first offseason under a new ownership group, led by private equity billionaire David Rubenstein, whose purchase of the team was finalized on March 27 (the day before Opening Day).

There will be other decisions to make, too. Veteran backup catcher James McCann is hitting free agency, while first baseman/designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn and left-hander Danny Coulombe each has a team option -- O’Hearn for $7.5 million and Coulombe for $4 million. Outfielder Austin Slater and left-hander John Means will be free agents as well.

Perhaps Baltimore could also be more aggressive in pursuing players on the open market.

No matter what transpires, Wednesday marked the final time that this iteration of the O’s will be together. Next year’s version could look substantially different in some ways.

“You don’t know if they’re going to be back or not,” catcher Adley Rutschman said. “Some of these guys have had big impacts on people in this room. It’s emotional.”