The Reds handed Chase Burns a seven-year, $105 million extension on Wednesday, per ESPN and MLB Trade Rumors — the largest deal ever given to a pitcher who hasn’t reached arbitration, and the third-biggest contract in franchise history behind Joey Votto and Ken Griffey Jr. It also, per MLB.com’s Friday rumor roundup, quietly reframed what Cincinnati does with Hunter Greene between now and Aug. 3.
The logic is straightforward. At 43-52, the Reds are headed toward selling, and MLB.com notes that none of their obvious trade chips project to bring back a meaningful return. Greene is the exception — and now he’s also the redundancy. Burns is signed through 2033. Greene’s six-year, $53 million deal runs through 2028 with a club option for 2029. A team that just committed nine figures to one flamethrower has an argument for cashing in the other while the contract still reads as a bargain.
Whether the market agrees depends on how much of Greene’s injury history buyers are willing to absorb. He has been repeatedly sidelined since Cincinnati took him second overall in 2017, and he missed most of this first half after right elbow surgery in March. But the stuff has never been the question, and neither has the ceiling: he posted a 2.76 ERA with 10.5 strikeouts per nine across 2024-25.
His two starts back tell the story of a pitcher still finding the thread. Greene allowed eight runs in his July 4 return, then answered with 12 strikeouts over seven scoreless innings against the Cubs on July 10. Contenders have three weeks to decide which of those is closer to the truth.
The timing may work in Cincinnati’s favor. MLB.com points out that if Tarik Skubal, Joe Ryan and Sonny Gray all stay put because Detroit, Minnesota and Boston remain in contention, Greene becomes the best starter genuinely available — and the Reds get to set the price in a market with nowhere else to shop.
