The Reds announced Friday that they’ve placed right-hander Chase Burns on the 15-day injured list due to a Grade 1 flexor strain. Left-handed reliever Joe La Sorsa was recalled from Triple-A Louisville to take Burns’ spot on the big league roster. A Grade 1 strain is the lowest grade of severity, but it’s an ominous injury nonetheless. Any flexor or elbow injury is an unwelcome development for pitchers. The team has not yet provided an expected timeline for the young righty’s return.
Burns, 22, was the No. 2 overall selection in the 2024 amateur draft. He quickly rose through the majors after a standout career at Wake Forest, and while his 5.24 ERA through his first eight big league starts isn’t particularly appealing, it’s skewed by one nightmare outing wherein he was shredded for seven runs (five earned) in just one-third of an inning at Fenway Park. Over Burns’ past six starts, he’s turned in a 3.72 ERA and reached 10 strikeouts four times. Burns has struck out a whopping 37.7% of his opponents on the season, including an even gaudier 40.5% mark in his past six turns.
Unlike so many young flamethrowers with elite velocity and bat-missing ability, Burns hasn’t struggled with his command. He’s walked 8.6% of his opponents in the majors, right around average, and walked only 5.4% of his opponents in the minors this season. He’s averaged 98.4 mph on his four-seamer, primarily coupling it with a slider that sits 90.5 mph but also (very) occasionally mixing in a changeup that’s averaged 90.8 mph.
For Reds fans, it’s easy to dream on a rotation fronted by power-armed righties Hunter Greene and Burns, with southpaws Andrew Abbott and Nick Lodolo standing as overqualified “third” and “fourth” starters. Nick Martinez and Zack Littell are free agents at season’s end, but right-hander Brady Singer is controllable via arbitration through 2026. A rotation of Greene, Burns, Abbott, Lodolo and Singer — if healthy — could be one of the very best in the sport. That doesn’t even include righty Rhett Lowder, the No. 7 overall pick from the 2023 draft who’s been out all season due to his own flexor strain as well as a subsequent oblique strain.
“If healthy” serves as a notable caveat with regard to the Reds’ rotation, however. Greene has been limited to just 65 2/3 innings this season thanks to a pair of groin strains — the second of which cost him more than two months. Abbott missed the final month of the 2024 season due to a shoulder strain and was out for three weeks early in the current season due to a separate shoulder strain. Lodolo’s 129 2/3 innings this year are already a career-high. He’s been on the major league injured list seven times since debuting in 2022, missing time for calf, groin, lower back and finger injuries. Lowder still isn’t on a rehab assignment and hasn’t pitched in a minor league game since May 22.
At least the diamond gods are letting the long suffering Red fans sniff the post season. Now they’ve shifted to the early stages of pulling the rug. As they toy with Reds fans.
It’d be funny if it wasn’t true.
Could be an injury of convenience. A couple weeks off and then Burns ends the year in the Reds rotation? Possible. BTW Miley, Gibaut, Antone, and Burns could all be ready to activate by 9/1.. Perhaps all is not lost yet.
I think Gibaut had a setback but yeah that’s a good point.
Miley, Gibaut, Antone? Barf
Why can’t we have nice things ever!?
Said every other fanbase
Most other franchises don’t have such a small margin for error
At least you had the 1970s and 1990.
I’m a Rays fan, and whereas we were good for a while, we were never excellent.
Never is a long time BRM was as close to excellent as baseball gets.
Rather than flex or strain to make a pun about the Reds, I’ll let others chase burns.
Many of us predicted this a few weeks ago and everyone got pissed at us. Being young and throwing very hard is not unique, it IS a recipe for arm injury and I’m sorry to say, easily predictable.
That’s how the game is now and it isn’t changing anytime soon. Throwing hard and racking up strikeouts is the key to getting the huge payday for pitchers. They’ll take the risk of injury if it gives them the best chance at eventually securing a lucrative contract
Probably when he got warm for the speedway series then sat a long period of time and got warm again. Pure negligence, good job reds
You can blame that on the crew that didn’t call the game
Reds got burned by Chasing that Wild Card spot.
Must be Andrew Friedman’s fault.
So Martinez will continue starting until Lodolo’s return, unless somebody else hits the IL.
For those who questioned the Littel trade this is your answer. You can’t have too much pitching.
For me it wasn’t why get littel, it was why only littel
Noone is surprised, its the Reds. Charlie Brown is about to kick the ball..
The love of the radar gun and pitch counts, I’ll say it again.
First team to take the radar gun readings off the scoreboard gets my respect.
That’s one perspective. Another is that the readings allow fans further from the plate to better determine what type of pitch it was.
Hate to see it, but not surprising at all.
This obe belongs to the Reds. 🤣
This rotation could be nasty for the red legs. Now imagine if they had Frank Robinson and Ted kluswekski, oh my.
I’d prefer Bench and Morgan
So much for the innings limit
These days it’s not who has the best pitching for the post season, but who has the best ptching and pitching depth. Reds still have a few bullets in the clip.
Guess who trounces every team in the league year in and year out at this? You guessed it Shohei Ohtani’s LA Dodgers
Reds chocking for 2nd night in a row. Season is over
Meant choking