While the Pirates hoped to work with right-hander Nick Burdi while he rehabbed back from his second Tommy John surgery, he elected free agency over an assignment to the Pirates' class AAA affiliate Monday.
The Pirates designated Burdi for assignment on Nov. 1 after he underwent the surgery in October. He cleared waivers Saturday and was outrighted to the Indianapolis Indians.
He will not pitch in 2021, and the Pirates did not want to carry him on the 40-man roster the entire offseason without knowing what his future is.
This was the latest in what has been a long line of major arm injuries for the 27-year-old, including his first Tommy John procedure in 2017 and a surgery to relieve symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome in 2019. Burdi was on the Pirates' major-league roster every day of the past three seasons, but spent almost all of it on the injured list, totaling just 12 1/3 innings.
Burdi's season came to a close in early August, when he suffered what was described as a “significant strain” to his right forearm, but surgery was not believed to be required at that time. Instead, he had a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection followed by 10-12 weeks of rehab, but that was determined not to be enough and he eventually had to go under the knife.
Despite his lengthy injury history, Burdi has wowed when healthy, firing triple-digit fastballs and a wipeout slider. That's why the Pirates were hoping to keep him in the system.
"There are plenty of examples of guys who have gone through that and pitched really well in the major leagues. I think Nick is definitely capable of that," Ben Cherington said during a Zoom call last week. "He’s obviously got really good stuff. He’s an incredibly hard worker. He’s really smart. He’s learning all the time. You add all that stuff up, and as much as it’s been frustrating for him to this point, I think all that gives him a chance to be a really good major-league pitcher. We’d love to continue working with him."
While this does not necessarily close the door on Burdi returning to the Pirates, it does give him the freedom to explore his options. He likely will have to settle for a minor-league deal wherever he goes, but it will give him the choice to pick what he feels is the best team with which to do his rehab.
