The first step to securing the future of the Cincinnati Reds is signing our young stars to early long-term contracts. And today the front office made an uncharacteristically savvy move in signing Chase Burns to a seven-year, $105 million contract that will begin in 2027 and run through 2033.
The contract is one of the few major deals the Reds have seen fit to award in the past decade. Those include the 10-year, $225 million extension given to Cincinnati legend Joey Votto in 2012 and the six-year, $105 million contract pitcher Homer Bailey signed in 2014 before that.
And few can deny that Burns has earned every penny.
Since arriving in the majors Burns has gone 11-4 with a 3.14 ERA. His overpowering stuff has led to a K/9 rate at 11.4 and his strikeout percentage is at 30.8%. Opposing hitters are managing just a .215 average against him.
And he’s just getting better.
In 2026 he is 11-1 with a 2.54 ERA while making the All-Star Game for the first time at just 23 years of age. Burns has improved in almost every major pitching statistic in the game. He could absolutely combine with Hunter Greene to form one of the best 1-2 punches in all of baseball.
This is an extremely positive move by the Reds front office, which has been much maligned in recent weeks as the team sees its chances for contention slip further and further away. Securing the future of a great player like Burns now, rather than waiting until a do or die free agency year is smart business, even though there is risk involved (a pitcher’s health is always a factor). But it also begs the question the extent to which the franchise can do the same for its other young potential stars in Sal Stewart and Elly De La Cruz.
It’s clear that Elly’s future in Cincinnati is extremely complicated, and will likely be the subject of heated debate between now and 2029 when his contract is up, so extending him is far from a simple proposition. But Stewart, on the other hand, seems to be a no-brainer candidate for a more secure and team friendly contract given his own All-Star 2026 season (.256 with 19 HR and 65 RBI).
The 2026 season may be all but over, but finding ways to plan for the team’s future success and to keep key roster pieces in a Cincinnati Reds uniform now, rather than kicking the can down the road, can bring at least some positivity to an otherwise disappointing year.
