The Cincinnati Reds are finalizing a contract extension with right-hander Chase Burns following his first All-Star selection, according to league sources. Terms remain under discussion, but figures north of $100 million are in scope—a sharp pivot for a franchise that walked $160 million away from payroll between 2020 and 2023.
Burns, 24, made his major-league debut last April and posted a 2.91 ERA across 28 starts, striking out 11.3 batters per nine while averaging 97.2 mph on his four-seam fastball. He was Cincinnati's top draft pick in 2023 out of Wake Forest, signed for $9.25 million, and reached the majors in 349 days—the fastest path from campus to Reds rotation since Homer Bailey in 2007. The All-Star nod came in his 34th career start, one game faster than Johnny Cueto's pace in 2011.
The extension would lock Burns through his arbitration years and likely buy out two or three free-agent seasons, forestalling a bidding war the Reds historically lose. Cincinnati has not retained a homegrown ace past age 29 since Aaron Harang in 2008. Cueto left for San Francisco. Luis Castillo was traded to Seattle for four prospects in 2022. Sonny Gray walked to St. Louis after one season. The pattern is legible, and ownership under the Castellini family has treated extensions as risk rather than leverage.
But the posture is changing. The Reds spent $104 million this winter on two veteran starters and a bullpen overhaul, their largest offseason outlay since 2013. Attendance at Great American Ball Park rose 11% through June, and television ratings on Bally Sports Ohio are tracking 8% above 2024 despite the regional sports network bankruptcy. Burns is the first ace Cincinnati has developed in-house since Castillo, and the front office understands what happens when you let that walk: the rebuild clock resets, and the next $100 million goes to reclamation projects rather than cornerstone talent.
Comparables tilt upward. Corbin Burnes signed a $210 million extension with Arizona last winter at age 29, covering six years. Dylan Cease, traded to San Diego, is a free agent after 2025 and expected to command $140 million over five years. Hunter Greene—Burns' rotation partner in Cincinnati—signed a $53 million deal last spring covering three arbitration years and one option, the baseline for this negotiation. Burns' camp is likely pressing for $120-140 million over seven years; the Reds are believed to be offering closer to $100 million over six, structured with deferred payments and a club option for a seventh season at $24 million.
The All-Star selection accelerated the timeline. Burns started the Midsummer Classic in Arlington and struck out five batters over three innings, the first Reds pitcher to open an All-Star game since Tom Seaver in 1977. His agent, Scott Boras, typically waits until free agency to maximize leverage, but Burns is not yet Boras-certified—he signed with Reynolds Sports Management in April, a boutique firm that closed extensions for Shane Bieber and Aaron Nola before age 26. That choice signals intent.
Cincinnati's front office, led by GM Nick Krall, has until the end of July to finalize terms before Burns' camp shifts focus to arbitration filings in November. If the deal closes, it reshapes the Reds' competitive arc: they would carry three pitchers under contract through 2027 (Burns, Greene, and Nick Lodolo), with $215 million committed and payroll flexibility to add a middle-order bat before the trade deadline.
Watch the structure. Deferred money is common in Cincinnati deals—Joey Votto's $225 million extension in 2012 included $50 million in deferrals through 2034. If Burns' extension carries similar terms, the Reds gain payroll room now while the TV rights landscape stabilizes. Bally Sports Ohio's bankruptcy exit is expected by September, and the Reds are negotiating a direct-to-consumer streaming package worth an estimated $40 million annually starting in 2026.
The announcement is expected within 10 days, before the July 30 trade deadline. If it falls through, Cincinnati becomes a seller, and Burns' trade value sits near four top-100 prospects—the Castillo return. The difference this time: ownership is willing to pay to avoid that call.
The takeaway
Reds moving to lock Burns for **$100M+** before arbitration, reversing decade-long pattern of losing homegrown aces to market.
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