Reds Manager Terry Francona Has a Big Decision to Make Before Opening Day

Opening Day is almost here. Now is the time for Cincinnati Reds players wishing to make the roster to really turn it on. Thing is, there’s only a few spots up for grabs.

Rhett Lowder seems to be the consensus fourth starter when the Reds return to Great American Ballpark. The fifth starter remains the biggest question. Chase Burns or Brandon Williamson?

Decisions, Decisions

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Chase Burns (26) delivers a pitch in the first inning of a Cactus League game between the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Guardians, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Ariz. | Frank Bowen IV/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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While some have said Burns will not be open the first iteration of the Reds rotation, I still can see this happening. His most recent start was cut short but the team maintains he is healthy, just not as far along as others in his ramp up to the season.

While the speculation is that Williamson will earn the first nod as the fifth man, there has been just as much said about his health as has Burns. Charlie Goldsmith posted an interesting quote from Reds manager Terry Francona as it pertains to Williamson.

“Our biggest challenge, probably his too, is getting on a five-day (routine). You come back from a surgery like that and one day you feel pretty good and the next day… You try to navigate getting that routine. That’s just going to take some time. That’s not his fault. He has done a great job.”

The cryptic nature of that quote ties directly into another from Francona that Charlie included in the same article:

“He’s really young, and doesn’t have a ton of experience, even like with routines. So (Derek Johnson) and the medical people want to try to get him on this routine to keep his range of motion because that’s really important with pitchers.”

To me there is no separation between the two and it’s just as likely, at this point, that either one makes the Opening Day roster. Burns may have the higher ceiling, but it sounds like there's at least a chance the he starts the year in Triple-A, even with Hunter Greene out until July.

What each pitcher does next, and how they recover, will go a long way to determining their early season plans and whether they go to Louisville or Cincinnati.

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