Reds right-hander Chase Burns’ breakout season is over after Cincinnati placed him on the 15-day injured list with a right groin strain Sunday, retroactive to Saturday.
Burns, 23, finished his second season 15-3 with a 2.86 ERA in 29 starts. He amassed 185 strikeouts and 56 walks over 154 1/3 innings and made his first All-Star team.
Over two seasons with the Reds, who selected him No. 2 overall in the 2024 draft, he is 15-6 with a 3.23 ERA in 42 games (37 starts). In 197 2/3 innings, he has 252 strikeouts and 72 walks.
“We’re being very cautious,” manager Terry Francona told reporters. “I think it makes sense to not push him for a three-inning start. So his year is over. He did a really, really good job and we got him to a point where next year — however he pitches — he pitches. It’s not going to be determined by, ‘Oh, we’ve got to be careful for this.’ That’s a really good thing.”
Burns missed the All-Star Game as a precaution due to tightness in the same groin. After his final unrestricted start Aug. 30 against the Cubs, the Reds limited him to three-inning starts over his last three outings.
“It’s not how I wanted it to end,” said Burns, who signed a seven-year, $105 million contract in July. “But looking back and seeing how much growth and progress I made — going from not even knowing if I was going to make the roster out of camp to being here and having a pretty successful season — I think it’s gone a good way, and I’m excited for next year.
“The sky’s the limit. Going for another All-Star, Cy Young, I just want to help the team out as much as possible.”
In a corresponding move, the Reds selected the contract of right-hander Carson Spiers from Triple-A Louisville. The team also designated veteran outfielder TJ Friedl for assignment.
The 28-year-old Spiers, who underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2025, will be an option out of the bullpen for the final week of the season. In four starts at Louisville, Spiers went 0-1 with a 3.54 ERA in 20 1/3 innings.
In 29 games (14 starts) over parts of three seasons with the Reds (2023-25), Spiers — an undrafted free agent — is 5-10 with a 5.69 ERA, 103 strikeouts and 41 walks in 117 innings.
Friedl, 31, endured the worst year of his career as he batted just .172 with four home runs and 13 RBIs in 91 games. In parts of six seasons with Cincinnati after signing as an undrafted free agent in 2016, he posted a .246 average with 58 homers, 60 stolen bases, 252 runs and 214 RBIs.
