Price was a starter for essentially his entire career aside from the stretch run in 2008. He’s one of many rookie pitchers over the years who have had their innings managed by finishing the season in a relief role.
The Reds haven’t officially moved Burns to the bullpen yet. But Francona met with Burns on Monday and informed him that he may get “creative” determining Burns’ role down the stretch this season.
Burns is open to pitching out of the bullpen.
“I don’t care as long as I’m throwing and I feel good,” Burns said. “I’m open to the bullpen. Whatever I need to do to help the team win… We’ll see if it happens. If it happens it happens. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t.”
Two years ago, Burns was a sophomore pitcher at Tennessee when the Volunteers moved him to the bullpen. It was a piece of adversity at the time because Burns had already established himself as a dynamic starting pitcher in the SEC, and he went on to transfer to Wake Forest heading into 2024 for the chance to start consistently.
While moving to the bullpen wasn’t ideal for Burns at the time, he sees a silver lining now in the fact that he has experience pitching in relief.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
“I’m being adaptable,” Burns said. “They do a great job of communicating with me. I’m ready for anything.”
Burns has already thrown 100 ⅓ innings this season, which is more than he threw at Wake Forest last year. The Reds have set an innings limit for Burns this season. The organization isn’t publicly announcing the number, but it’s safe to say that Burns can’t keep pitching six-plus innings every five days between now and the end of the season.
“That (number) can be a little cosmetic,” Francona said. “You watch how the kid is throwing and also try to let the pitching guys and trainers and medical people use their judgement. They’ve tried to research it as much as they can.”
The Reds haven’t officially moved Burns to the bullpen yet, and there are a lot of moving pieces in the rotation as Hunter Greene returns from the injured list and as Nick Lodolo nears his return.
On Friday, Burns was placed on the 15-day injured list with a grade 1 right flexor strain, retroactive to Aug. 12.
Instead of keeping Burns in the rotation up until he reaches his innings limit, the Reds are prioritizing having him pitch through an entire season regardless of what role he’s in. Once he’s healthy, it’s possible he could return as part of the bullpen.
“There’s a little bit of science and a little bit of art to it,” president of baseball operations Nick Krall said. “We’re trying to figure out what’s best to get him through the end of the season and how he stays there.”
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