The Reds Just Handed Chase Burns 105 Million and It Might Be the Best Bet in Baseball
The Cincinnati Reds do not usually make headlines for handing out nine-figure contracts. That changed Wednesday when the club signed young right-hander Chase Burns to a seven-year extension worth roughly $105 million.
This is a big deal. Not just for the Reds. For every small-market team wondering how to actually keep a young ace.
Burns, the second overall pick out of Wake Forest in the 2024 draft, has been the one bright spot in a Reds rotation that has otherwise looked like a train wreck. Cincinnati pitchers set a modern record for consecutive walks earlier this season. The staff ERA hovers near the bottom of the National League. Burns has been the exception.
Through his rookie campaign he has already put up numbers that scream ace. A 3.14 ERA, a strikeout rate north of 11 per nine, and the kind of high-90s fastball that jumps out of his hand. The stuff is real. The command is getting better. And the Reds decided they were not going to wait around and let him hit free agency in his prime.
Locking a young ace up before he blows up is exactly the kind of move championship rosters are built on. Look at what Atlanta did with Spencer Strider a few years back. Look at what Milwaukee did with Freddy Peralta. The teams that get ahead of these deals win. The teams that wait pay double.
Cincinnati just paid Burns like a top-30 starter. In three years he could easily be a top-five starter. If he hits, the Reds might be paying a Cy Young winner half of what he is worth. That is the entire game.
The Reds have needed a face of the pitching staff since Luis Castillo was shipped out. Hunter Greene has flashed but stayed inconsistent. Nick Lodolo cannot stay healthy. Burns gives them a north star, a guy they can build around for the rest of the decade.
Fans will still be nervous. The Reds have a track record of letting young talent walk. Trevor Bauer left. Sonny Gray left. Even Aroldis Chapman left. This deal is a message that the plan has changed.
Ownership is not just talking about competing anymore. They are actually paying to compete. That matters in Cincinnati.
The interesting subplot here is how this changes the deadline calculus. With Burns locked up, the Reds do not need to trade for pitching help at any price. They can shop for a bat or a bullpen arm. That flexibility could turn what looked like a lost season into a legitimate wild card push.
Burns is 22 years old and just signed his first big-league contract. The seven-year term takes him through his age-29 season, which is a bargain window if he keeps developing. The Reds also reportedly built in club options that could push the total value even higher.
This is the kind of deal that gets people talking about a small-market team the right way for once. Cincinnati just did something smart. Now the pressure is on Burns to prove them right.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
