5 starting pitchers the Cleveland Guardians should target in free agency

5. Corbin Burnes - Baltimore Orioles

Like the previous name on this list, Corbin Burnes is someone who is most likely going to command a contract outside of the Guardians' comfort zone. And again, now is the time for the Guardians to do that, and that person being the caliber of starter that Burnes is, would be worth the financial investment.

Burnes has been an absolute stud since becoming a full-time starter, compiling a 2.94 ERA, 1.020 WHIP, and 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings in 125 games across four seasons in Milwaukee and Baltimore, including a Cy Young Award-winning campaign in 2021 during his time in a Brewers uniform. When it comes to players worthy of going above and beyond their normal spending habits, Burnes is clearly deserving.

Is this, and Fried for that matter, unlikely pipe dream-esque suggestions? Yes, admittedly, they are, considering the way the Guardians do business. However, with a team that finished with the second-best record in the American League and made it to the ALCS, the time for the Guardians to act like a genuinely competitive organization instead of one operating in an incredibly risk-averse manner is now. This is a roster on the cusp of ending the sport's longest active championship drought, and pushing all their chips in to do that is something that must be considered.