The Milwaukee Brewers did the Chicago Cubs a big favor after dealing their Cy Young winner to Baltimore.

The only team better than the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central last season was the Milwaukee Brewers.

Well, on Thursday the Cubs got a little gift in the form of the Brewers trading their ace, Corbin Burnes, to the Baltimore Orioles, thus taking him out of the NL Central completely and out of the Cubs’ collective hair.

The Brewers won the division by nine games last season, though the Cubs were in the race until a tailspin in mid-September. Burnes is a big reason why the Brewers have been a perennial playoff team the past several seasons.

Burnes went 10-8 with a 3.39 ERA last season as he made his third straight All-Star Game and was eighth in Cy Young voting. He is two years removed from his Cy Young-winning 2021 season, when he went 11-5 with an MLB-leading 2.43 ERA.

For his career Burnes is 45-27 with a 3.26 ERA.

So why did the Brewers deal Burnes? He’s entering his final year of team control and will be a free agent after the 2024 season. It may be an acknowledgement that the Brewers will be unable to sign him to a long-term deal.

The Brewers are also resetting some spending with several stars getting closer to free agency. Plus, the Brewers lost their long-time manager Craig Counsell to the Cubs.

Without Burnes the Brewers project a rotation that includes Freddy Peralta, Wade Miley, Joe Ross, Colin Rea and Robert Gasser.

Meanwhile, the Cubs have a projected rotation of Justin Steele, Kyle Hendricks, Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga and Javier Assad. The Cubs can also turn to Jordan Wicks, who made his debut last season, and top prospect Cade Horton, as potential options.

But at least the Cubs know they won’t have to deal with Burnes anymore.