The Baltimore Orioles are not playing around when it comes to staying ahead of the New York Yankees and manager Aaron Boone knows it.

The Orioles added former NL Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes this week in a blockbuster trade with the Milwaukee Brewers, giving them a legitimate ace to lead their rotation. That is worrying news for Boone and the Yankees, who finished a full 19 games behind Baltimore last season and are looking to close that gap in 2024.

On Saturday, however, Boone admitted that the trade made his job a fair bit more difficult.

“That can be a little bit of a problem,” Boone admitted Saturday, via Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. “That was my first reaction. He’s obviously an amazing pitcher going to a great team. We’ll see a lot of him and look forward to competing against the best, though.”

The Yankees have been looking for a high-end pitcher themselves this offseason, but have fallen short of the top names on the market. The Orioles’ move should not really change their strategy, but they are up against a talented young team that is now adding established stars. Boone is going to have a lot of work to do.