The Reds Just Handed Chase Burns $105 Million. The Rest of the Roster Still Can't Score

The Cincinnati Reds made a franchise-defining commitment over the All-Star break, locking up right-hander Chase Burns to a seven-year, $105 million extension that runs through 2033 with no deferred money and no options. Per The Athletic, it's the largest contract ever given to a pitcher with fewer than four years of MLB service time.

But here's the uncomfortable question the Reds now face: what exactly are they building around him?

Burns has been everything the Reds could have hoped for since being selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. In 26 starts this season, he's 15-3 with a 2.79 ERA, 171 strikeouts against 50 walks in 145.1 innings, and a 1.16 WHIP. He posted a 1.77 ERA across 13 minor league starts before his promotion, then took to the big leagues like he'd been there for years. He's an All-Star.

The extension signals the Reds believe Burns is the cornerstone of a winner. The problem? The rest of the roster isn't holding up its end of the bargain.

Cincinnati enters the stretch run at 65-73, fifth in the NL Central and 20 games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers. Their run differential sits at minus-113 — and they own the worst offense in baseball. The Reds are hitting .226 as a team with a .698 OPS, scoring just 570 runs while allowing 683. They've been shut out twice in the last week alone, including a 5-0 loss at home on Aug. 31.

The struggles aren't just a small-sample blip. Over their last 20 games, the Reds are hitting .215 with a .680 OPS. Their recent surge — 10 wins in 14 games at one point — was powered largely by Burns and a suddenly hot streak at the plate, but the offense has reverted to form since, scoring seven combined runs over their last two contests while their staff has been lit up for a 7.58 ERA over the last 10 games.

Injuries haven't helped. Hunter Greene, the co-ace who missed the first three-plus months after elbow surgery, is back on the 60-day IL with renewed soreness in that same elbow. Rhett Lowder has been shelved. The rotation is Burns and a lot of hope.

What makes the Burns extension so fascinating is the timing. The Reds are all but mathematically eliminated from playoff contention — bookmakers list their championship odds at 100,000-to-1 — and this was supposed to be a season where a sell-off at the trade deadline felt inevitable. Instead, they doubled down on their brightest star.

That's either premature or visionary. The Reds have prospects coming, and Burns gives them a legitimate ace to build around. But a $105 million commitment only pays off if the lineup around him learns to score runs. Right now, the worst offense in baseball is the biggest obstacle between Cincinnati and relevance — and it's not particularly close.

Burns is doing his part. The Reds need the rest of the roster to catch up before his prime years go to waste.