The Cincinnati Reds signed right-hander Chase Burns to an eight-year, $142 million extension Friday, bypassing arbitration entirely and committing to the 24-year-old through his age-31 season. The deal includes a $28 million club option for 2033 with a $4 million buyout, bringing the maximum value to $166 million. Burns earned $760,000 in 2024 and was three years from free agency.
Burns posted a 2.91 ERA across 31 starts this season, striking out 227 batters in 189.1 innings. He made the National League All-Star team in July, the first Reds rookie pitcher to do so since 1999. The extension was finalized 11 days after his All-Star appearance, faster than any comparable pre-arbitration deal in the sport since 2019. MLB Network reported the framework was in place before the Mid-Summer Classic but required board approval given the franchise-record guarantee for a player with less than two years of service time.
The structure matters for Cincinnati's payroll planning. The Reds carried a $104 million opening-day payroll in 2024, ranking 22nd in the league. Burns will earn an average annual value of $17.75 million starting in 2025, immediately becoming the team's second-highest paid player behind first baseman Matt McLain, who signed a $68 million extension in March. The franchise now has $85.5 million committed to just two players through 2028, limiting flexibility in free agency but creating cost certainty during ownership's stated three-year window to contend.
The deal reshapes how teams value control years. Burns surrendered three arbitration seasons and four free-agent years for guaranteed money now, a calculation that makes sense given injury risk for power pitchers but compresses the Reds' future payroll. The team's previous record guarantee to a pre-arbitration player was $51 million to Joey Votto in 2012, adjusted for inflation roughly $69 million in 2024 dollars. Burns' deal is 106% larger in nominal terms.
Comparables include Julio Rodríguez's $210 million extension with Seattle in 2022 and Rafael Devers' $331 million deal with Boston in 2023, both signed before arbitration. Burns' $142 million guarantee sits between those frameworks but with less upside optionality, the Reds declined to include escalators tied to Cy Young voting or innings thresholds that could have pushed the total past $180 million.
Watch for how Cincinnati allocates remaining payroll. The team has $18.5 million coming off the books in 2025 with expiring contracts for relievers Alexis Díaz and Lucas Sims. General manager Nick Krall told local media the front office is exploring bullpen upgrades and a left-handed bat for the outfield, the latter expected to cost $8-12 million annually in the current market. Burns' extension removes uncertainty but tightens the margin for error if he regresses or if ownership declines to push payroll past $125 million, the informal threshold ownership set in 2023 investor calls.
The Reds open 2025 spring training February 12 in Goodyear, Arizona. Burns is scheduled to throw his first bullpen session February 15, earlier than typical for a pitcher coming off 189 innings, suggesting the team wants him built up for opening day assignment against the Cubs March 27. His extension resets the pre-arbitration market, and agents for Elly De La Cruz and Hunter Greene, both Reds controllable assets, will use it as a baseline in winter meetings discussions starting December 9 in Dallas.
The takeaway
Cincinnati's **$142M** Burns extension creates cost certainty but limits payroll flexibility through **2028**, forcing front office to build around two max contracts.
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