“That could be a bit of a problem” - Aaron Boone believes Orioles' acquiring Corbin Burnes could hurt Yankees' aspirations of winning AL East

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone feels the Baltimore Orioles signing Corbin Burnes is a major event that could influence how the AL East plays out. The O's have stacked up their already strong rotation by dealing two prospects and a draft pick to the Milwaukee Brewers for the former Cy Young winner.

“That could be a bit of a problem," Boone was quoted by saying Bryan Hoch.

The Baltimore Orioles shocked everyone last season with a 101-win regular season as they topped the division, beating much-fancied and defending table-toppers the New York Yankees, who came in fourth. The Yanks finished with an 82-80 record with an underperforming pitching staff with little to no support for AL Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole.

On the other side, the Orioles flourished with pitchers like Kyle Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez. Both young pitchers made their way to healthy ERAs in the second half of the season, with Bradish coming in fourth in the Cy Young race. But the postseason didn't go as planned as both starters tanked against the eventual champions, the Texas Rangers.

Thus, they needed some experience in the rotation and in came Corbin Burnes, a 2.84 postseason ERA holder. The Brewers traded the pitcher with one year left on his contract.

Yankees rotation needs help

The Bombers both hit and miss with their rotation last year. On one hand, Gerrit Cole held the fort on his own with a Cy Young-winning performance. However, players like Carlos Rodon and Clarke Schmidt were unable to leave a mark.

New York missed out on signing Yoshinobu Yamamoto and has thus been unable to make a significant impact in the free-agent market as of now. However, with players like Jordan Montgomery and Blake Snell, they may add another quality pitcher to their rotation, especially after Burnes' signing.