Chase Burns will not pitch in the July 14 Midsummer Classic after the Cincinnati Reds decided on July 11 to pull him from the All-Star Game plan. Justin Wrobleski of the Los Angeles Dodgers will take Burns’ place on the National League roster, ending what had been set up as a showcase start for the young right-hander.
Burns said he went to Terry Francona himself after feeling his groin tighten following his July 8 start against the Philadelphia Phillies. He said the issue likely came after a second-inning tag play at home plate following a wild pitch, and that he thought it was the mature move to protect the second half of the season rather than push through it for one game.
That matters because the Reds had arranged his pre- and post-break schedule so he could still pitch in the game at Citizens Bank Park, where the Midsummer Classic is being staged. Instead, Burns said he will attend All-Star Game festivities and not throw, buying himself 13 days between the Phillies start and his next competitive action, which he said should come July 21 at the Seattle Mariners.
Burns was not placed on the injured list, a sign the club believes the layoff is enough to settle the problem without turning it into something bigger. He said the next start will be totally fine and that recovery is the biggest part, but the Reds are still choosing caution with a pitcher who went into the break with an 11-1 record and a 2.54 ERA.
The decision also leaves Cincinnati to move ahead without one of the arms it had lined up for the showcase, even though the club earned two All-Star Game nods while sitting in last place in the National League Central. Sal Stewart is still scheduled to participate, and the Reds’ post-break rotation is expected to run Brady Singer, Nick Lodolo, Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott and Burns as they open a nine-game road trip against the Colorado Rockies, the Seattle Mariners and the St. Louis Cardinals.
For Burns, the question now is not whether he belongs on the big stage. It is whether the caution taken this week is enough to keep him on the mound when the Reds need him most, starting with that next turn against Seattle.
