Brewers' Wilson: 'Orioles messed up' trading Ortiz for Burnes

Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Bryse Wilson believes the Baltimore Orioles made a mistake when they traded away rookie third baseman Joey Ortiz in a deal for ace Corbin Burnes during the offseason.

"I think the Orioles messed up," Wilson said Saturday after Ortiz led the Brewers to a 3-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds, according to Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "I'm not going to lie to you. Obviously, they get Corbin, but (Ortiz) is a generational player right there. He hits. He plays elite defense."

He added, "The guy is hitting .290. You got a lot of power. I've seen some really good exit velo. I feel like when he came over the big thing was the defense."

Ortiz hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning to break a scoreless game in what ended up being the only offense the Brewers needed.

The 25-year-old is now slashing .281/.381/.472 with six round-trippers and 27 RBIs over 61 games for the NL Central-leading Brewers. He entered Saturday with a 2.2 fWAR, and he's in the 92nd percentile in range and 84th in arm strength in baseball.

Meanwhile, Burnes, whom the Orioles got for Ortiz and left-hander DL Hall in February, has authored a 2.08 ERA with a 1.00 WHIP and 82 strikeouts over 86 2/3 innings (14 starts) in 2024. The 2021 NL Cy Young winner can test free agency after this season.