Nick Burdi: A Promising Pirate Went Down In Flames
The Pittsburgh Pirates made a flurry of moves during the first full weekend of the 2020 - 2021 off-season to clear room on the 40-man roster. One of the initial surprise moves was when the team designated reliever Nick Burdi for assignment. However, it was later found out that Burdi would miss the entire 2021 season after doctors determined he would need a second Tommy John Surgery. This is the third elbow injury that Burdi has suffered in the last two seasons and is just another major setback for the former 24th round draft pick out of Downers Grove South High School in Illinois.
Burdi was one of the Pirates closer candidates for the 2021 season after the departure of Keone Kela in free agency. He has a fastball that can routinely hit in the triple digits and two breaking balls that drop down into the mid-80s. He could get wild at times, but he was able to make up for it with a high strike out rate. He looked like he was going to turn into a dominant back-end of the rotation arm for the Pirates, but poor mechanics have led him to several elbow injuries that have left him on the sidelines. Today, we will look at Burdi's short career with the Pirates and how the Pirates bullpen will take shape with the subtractions of Burdi and Kela in 2021.
A Budding Reliever With Potential
When you say the name Nick Burdi to a Pirates fan, the first image that pops in their head is a guy crumpled on the ground in pain holding his elbow. That was the scene on April 22nd, 2019, when Burdi ended up having to leave the game with what he later discovered to be Neurogenic Thoracic Outlet Syndrome that required surgery. However, Burdi's journey with the Pirates actually began prior to the 2018 season. The Philadelphia Phillies sent Burdi to the Pirates in a trade for cash considerations prior to the 2018 season. Burdi was coming off of Tommy John Surgery and was trying to bounce back and turn into a feel-good story going from the 24th round of the MLB draft to the Big Leagues.
It took almost the entire 2018 season for the recovery process, and Burdi would end up making his MLB debut with the Pirates on September 11th, 2018. His debut did not go anything like the right-hander had planned as he lasted just 0.1 innings and gave up four runs, three earned, on two hits while walking a batter. The big blow came on a Grand Slam by Tyler O'Neill and it was enough to end Burdi's night. From then on Burdi was determined to work his way back to the 2019 Pirates bullpen. He came back in 2019 and did just that appearing in nine games and pitching to a 1.80 ERA. He allowed just five hits in 10 innings of work, but the most impressive number was his 13 strikeouts and his near triple-digit heat.
Burdi cracked his first Opening Day roster and was prepared to leave his rough 2018 debut behind him. He allowed just three earned runs in his first nine appearances for a 3.52 ERA. He was using his change of speeds to his advantage striking out 15 batters in 7.2 innings of work. He was developing into a strong back-end option, and former manager Clint Hurdle began using him in more high-leverage situations. However, you could tell something was off as Burdi was tagged for six runs over his next inning of work. He ended up going down with the injury and missing the entire 2019 season. Luckily it wasn't as serious as once thought and Burdi didn't have to miss any time in 2020.
Burdi once again came into Spring Training in competition for a spot on the Big League roster. But this time, it was for the Closer's role as Keone Kela was down with an injury. Burdi would end up being the setup man for Kyle Crick but got some save opportunities during the season. Over his first two games of the season, Burdi did not allow a run over two innings and picked up his first career Big League save. He struck out four and walked one over two innings of work while walking just one batter. However, he was once again struck by injury and left the game on August 3rd when his elbow didn't feel right. Now, with another Tommy John Surgery looming, Burdi is trying to prepare for another comeback story.
How The Back-End of the Bullpen Looks
With Burdi now out of the Pirates 2021 bullpen picture, the back-end of the bullpen has some questions. Richard Rodriguez would be slated as the full-time closer, coming off of one of his best Big League seasons to date where he went 3-2 with a 2.70 ERA. He picked up four saves in five opportunities and struck out 34 batters in 23.1 innings of work. behind him, the Pirates will have a battle as they get some late-inning arms back from the injured/suspended list. Michael Feliz returns after missing most of the 2020 season with an injury and Edgar Santana comes back from the suspension that forced him to miss the entire 2020 season.
Santana still has 20 games of his 80-game suspension for PED use to serve, and it has been a while since he has been on a Big League mound. He had Tommy John Surgery that had him miss the entire 2019 season, and then the suspension took him out for 2020. The last time he was on the mound was in 2018 when he had an impressive rookie season going 3-4 with a 3.26 ERA in 66.1 innings of work. Michael Feliz appeared in only three games in 2020 while suffering from a right forearm strain. However, he had his best season in the Major Leagues with the Pirates in 2019 as he went 4-4 with a 3.99 ERA in 56.1 innings of work.
The other two options for the back-end of the bullpen are Kyle Crick, who is looking to bounce back after a rough season, and Blake Cederlind. Crick had his fair share of injuries throughout 2020 and has just seemed to lose the spark on his fastball. After hitting 97 routinely in 2019, Crick dropped to 91 - 92 mph in 2020. Crick finished the year with a 1.59 ERA, but only appeared in seven games and was wild walking four batters in 5.2 innings of work. The Pirate's final option for the back-end of the bullpen would be rookie Blake Cederlind. Cederlind made his much anticipated Major League debut last season and had a 5.40 ERA in four innings of work. He struck out four batters and walked one, but his inexperience will probably keep him out of the closer's role.
As a fan of comeback and feel-good stories, I am sorry to see Nick Burdi have to go out this way. He was a young, promising, reliever who looked to have a bright future in a Pirates uniform. I hope he is able to bounce back from yet another setback and become that strong reliever that he showed he could be. Whether that be with the Pirates down the line or with another team, I hope we get to hear "Now pitching #57 Nick Burdi" very soon. Until then, the Pirates will be looking to build the strongest bullpen that they can to help them compete in 2021 and get back on track towards a winning baseball team.
Comments
Post a Comment