DENVER (AP) — Now this gives new meaning to a coffee break: Chase Burns signing his new $105 million, seven-year contract was momentarily delayed when a cup of java was spilled on the paperwork.
No matter. The Cincinnati Reds simply presented a new one and got the deal done for the 23-year-old right-hander fresh off his first All-Star Game selection.
Burns spilled the beans Saturday on what happened behind the scenes. It appears Reds general manager Brad Meador toppled over coffee as they were finishing up the final details.
“That took some time to print a new one out,” Burns recounted before the Reds played the Rockies. “That was easy.”
Burns’ deal runs through the 2033 season.
It’s the largest guaranteed contract in the majors given to a pitcher with less than four years of service time and exceeds the previous high by 40% for someone with one year or more.
The move by Cincinnati also continues a pattern of teams locking up their young stars early. The NL Central rival St. Louis Cardinals recently signed rookie second baseman JJ Wetherholt to a $112.5 million, eight-year contract.
It also could be the start of a trend for his teammates, perhaps infielders Sal Stewart and Elly De La Cruz. The Reds agreed to a $53 million, six-year contract with right-hander Hunter Greene in 2023.
Burns was the second overall pick of the 2024 amateur draft out of Wake Forest.
“We’re going to build something great here. I think we have a great set of guys,” said Burns, who is 11-1 this season with a 2.54 ERA. “I think we’re going to keep getting better every year and that’s the end goal, to win a championship.”
Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall said the timing was right to wrap up the new contract. Burns is the second Reds player to pick up an All-Star nod within two years of being drafted, joining Scott Williamson (drafted in 1997 and an All-Star in ’99).
“We think the sky’s the limit for him,” Krall said of Burns. “We know he works his butt off. He’s trying to get better. He’s a young pitcher in the big leagues, so he’s still developing and he’s been pretty successful in developing at this level.
“We love our core group, and we do think that they’ve got a lot of talent. We’ve tried to lock a few guys up over the years, and we’re successful with Chase and Hunter. We think this is a really good building block to build on for the future.”
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