Six-Year MLB Veteran Who Last Pitched For Red Sox Retires

Did Boston give Nick Burdi a fair shot?

May 16, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Nick Burdi (68) throws against the Atlanta Braves during the ninth inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Right-handed pitcher Nick Burdi is calling it a career after one too many battles with the injury bug.

According to the official transactions log, Burdi retired from professional baseball on Tuesday at age 33. He had previously been placed on the injured list by the New York Mets' Triple-A affiliate in mid-April with an undisclosed injury.

Burdi's last major league pitch was thrown as a member of the Boston Red Sox, and since this is a Red Sox site, we'll discuss his career through the lens of why his tenure in Boston didn't quite work out the way he might have hoped, but it was obvious why the Red Sox wanted to give him a shot.

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Ex-Red Sox Burdi retires after another injury

Apr 1, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Nick Burdi against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Burdi wound up making 35 career major league appearances for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, and Red Sox. At times, he had a real chance to earn a regular role in some of those teams' bullpens, especially the Yankees in 2024, for whom he put up a 1.86 ERA in 12 appearances.

However, whenever Burdi started building positive momentum, he unfortunately found himself back on the IL. That happened when he had two Tommy John surgeries and thoracic outlet syndrome from the start of 2017 to the end of 2020. It happened with the Yankees when right hip inflammation derailed that 2024 season. And with the Red Sox last year, a right foot contusion was his undoing.

Burdi wasn't getting many big-game opportunities for the Red Sox, but he didn't allow an earned run in his 5 1/3 innings of major league work. For Triple-A Worcester, he had a 2.83 ERA last year and an impressive 45 strikeouts in 35 innings.

There was little doubt that Burdi had the stuff to make it as a big-league reliever. He struck out 44 major league batters in his 30 1/3 innings. If he had a second Achilles' heel besides the injuries, it was walks (he also let up 21 free passes in that major league sample).

Boston's brief tenure with Burdi didn't result in any sort of career resurgence, but he was a worthwhile reclamation project whose long professional career was still far more impressive than the average draftee.