The Baltimore Orioles already boasted one of the best rosters in baseball, the only thing they were lacking was a true ace.

Now, they’ve got one.

The Orioles have acquired 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for two prospects and a draft pick, the club announced Thursday night. Milwaukee will receive infielder Joey Ortiz, left-hander D.L. Hall and the No. 34 overall pick in this summer’s MLB Draft.

Since debuting in 2018 Burnes has consistently ranked among the best pitchers in baseball, and he has finished top 10 in the NL Cy Young vote each of the last four years. This past season he was named an All-Star for the third straight season and finished with a 3.39 ERA and 200 strikeouts over 193.2 innings.

Still only 29 years old, Burnes is entering his final year of arbitration and will be eligible for free agency after this coming season. He had been widely rumored to be on the trade block, and the Orioles were able to lean on their bountiful farm system to land the Brewers ace.

Hall and Ortiz ranked as Baltimore’s No. 6 and 7 prospects respectively according to Baseball America, and Hall also ranked No. 93 overall on its Top 100 Prospects list. The draft pick also comes in just after the first round, and while MLB teams normally can’t trade draft picks, there are certain exceptions and one is competitive balance picks awarded to small market teams, which the No. 34 pick is.

With Burnes on board, Baltimore’s rotation now projects as one of the best in baseball. He will be joined by Kyle Bradish, Dean Kremer, Grayson Rodriguez and likely John Means, with Bradish coming off an excellent 2023 season (2.83 ERA, 168.2 innings) and Kremer also emerging as a workhorse (4.12, 172.2).

The trade also caps off what has been a joyous week for Orioles fans, who learned that the Angelos family has agreed to sell the team to a group led by hedge fund billionaire David Rubenstein. Under the Angelos family’s leadership the Orioles have consistently boasted one of the lowest payrolls in baseball, but once Rubenstein’s group takes full control fans can reasonably expect the club to start spending more money after years of penny pinching.

In the meantime the ultra-talented Orioles are already coming off a 101-win season and an AL East title, and now they’ve made their biggest splash yet by landing Burnes. With spring training less than two weeks away the Orioles should enter the season as heavy favorites to repeat as division champions, and the Burnes trade is the latest indication that Baltimore is going to be a problem for the Red Sox and the rest of the AL East for years to come.