Reds extend Burns, vow 'to keep getting better'
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- Chase Burns signed a $105 million, seven-year extension with the Reds running through 2033, after being selected to his first All-Star Game this season.
- The deal is the largest guaranteed contract in the majors for a pitcher with less than four years of service time, exceeding the previous high by 40%.
- The signing was briefly delayed when GM Brad Meador spilled coffee on the paperwork, forcing the team to print a new copy before finalizing.
- Burns, the No. 2 pick of the 2024 draft out of Wake Forest, is 11-1 with a 2.54 ERA and becomes only the second Reds player to make an All-Star team within two years of being drafted (joining Scott Williamson, 1997 draft / 1999 All-Star).
- The extension continues a league-wide trend of locking up young stars early, following the Cardinals' $112.5 million, eight-year deal for rookie JJ Wetherholt and the Reds' own $53 million, six-year contract with Hunter Greene in 2023.
- President of baseball operations Nick Krall called Burns a "building block" for the future, while Burns himself said the end goal is to "win a championship," with teammates Sal Stewart and Elly De La Cruz cited as potential next candidates.
Why it matters: By guaranteeing $105 million to a pitcher with less than four years of service time — 40% above the prior high — the Reds are paying a premium to lock in their young ace before free agency, betting that Burns anchors a championship-caliber core alongside Greene and potentially Stewart and De La Cruz.
