Reds’ best trade deadline move won’t cost them a single prospect

The Cincinnati Reds have no shortage of needs as the MLB trade deadline approaches. The team could definitely use a right-handed hitting outfielder — fans have been screaming about that since Nick Castellanos left in 2022. Adding another reliever or two (or maybe three) to the mix couldn't hurt either.

The easiest way, however, for the Reds to improve their roster ahead of the MLB trade deadline is to call up top prospect Chase Burns. Reds President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall has downplayed the idea to this point, but Cincinnati may soon have no choice but to promote Burns in the coming weeks and let the chips fall where they may.

The right-hander made his Triple-A debut on Thursday, and after a rough start to the game, Burns turned in quite the performance for the Louisville Bats. In his first action at Triple-A, Burns covered 5 ⅓ innings and struck out seven while allowing two runs on four hits. He also walked four batters.

Reds’ best trade deadline move would be to just call up Chase Burns

The Reds starting rotation is far from healthy. Hunter Greene headed out to California for a second opinion on the hip/ back injury that has the Reds' ace back on the IL for the foreseeable future. Carson Spiers is likely out until at least next month, and the duo of Julian Aguiar and Brandon Williamson won't return until 2026. Greene's injury forced Cincinnati to reunite with Wade Miley, but one has to wonder how much gas he has left in the tank.

Burns was MLB-ready the moment he was drafted with the No. 2 overall pick out of Wake Forest. Rather than deploy him in the lower-levels of the minors in 2024, however, the Reds kept the right-hander off the mound until the outset of the 2025 season.

Since stepping onto the mound in Goodyear during spring training, Burns has proven to be utterly dominant. After blowing away the competition at both High-A Dayton and Double-A Chattanooga, Burns forced the issue and was promoted to Triple-A. There's only one move left to make, and that's a call-up to the big leagues.

The four walks issued last week are mildly concerning, but if Burns can show good command of the strike zone over the next couple of weeks, he may have proven all he can at the minor league level.

Burns has drawn a lot of comparisons to Pittsburgh Pirates' ace Paul Skenes. The reigning NL Rookie of the Year needed just 34 innings in the minors before making his major league debut in 2024. Burns has already covered 59 innings this season. If Burns truly is in Skenes' class, it's time to call him up to The Show.

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