Reds May Have to 'Get Creative' With Rookie Chase Burns to Finish Out Season

Cincinnati Reds rookie pitcher Chase Burns has been finding his strike at the Major League level lately, but he's now over 100 innings on the season between the minor leagues and majors, and the Reds may need to get creative.

The Reds have previously mentioned that they do not want to shut the rookie down this season, but they also want to keep his innings at a manageable level.

On Monday, manager Terry Francona spoke to reporters and said he had a discussion with Burns, according to Charlie Goldsmith. While there is not a plan set in stone yet, with Hunter Greene coming back, the easy decision seems to be to add Burns to the bullpen.

Burns was a reliever at different in points in his career collegiately and his electric stuff could play well out of the bullpen. If effective, he could also give the Reds another high-leverage arm to be able to pitch in the backend of games.

Regardless of what they decide to do with Burns, with Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo set to return soon, the Reds have more pitching depth than they've had in quite some time.

You can see Goldsmith's full post below:

Terry Francona said they met with Chase Burns today. There’s no set finalized plan yet as there are moving pieces in the rotation. There’s an innings limit, they may have to get creative and they really want him to keep pitching without having to be shut down.
— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) August 11, 2025