READING, Pa. — Beau Burrows had already made his way to bed in his hotel room in Charlotte, North Carolina, when his phone unexpectedly rang on a late Saturday night.
Just two days prior, on March 21, the Twins released the right-hander from the minor-league contract he signed in January. So, he and his wife, Emma, traveled to the Tarheel State to spend a week at Tread Athletics, a pitching and training facility, to keep his arm ready.
“It was a weird spring,” Burrows told Phillies Nation. “Things didn’t go as planned with Minnesota, and I was released with a week left in spring. Then I got a quicker-than-anticipated phone call from the Phillies.”
His agent called with an opportunity to sign with Philadelphia on a minor-league deal, so he ditched his plans in Charlotte and drove to the Phillies’ complex in Clearwater, Florida, the next day. He signed his contract on March 25 and finished out Spring Training with the team.
Then, Burrows was assigned to Double-A Reading. He stood inside the Fightin’ Phils’ new clubhouse at FirstEnergy Stadium on Tuesday for the team’s media day as the only player on the initial roster with major-league experience.
“I got down to Clearwater with a week left and got a game under my belt with the Phillies,” he said. “Now, I’m here, so I’m excited for the opportunity.”
Burrows will begin his 10th season of professional baseball as Reading opens up its schedule at Bowie’s Prince George’s Stadium on Friday night. It’s been a bit of a bumpy ride for the former first-round draft pick.
After he was selected with the No. 22 overall pick by the Tigers in 2015 out of Weatherford High School in Texas, Burrows put together some impressive seasons as a starter in the lower minors. In his first full Double-A season in 2018, he posted a 4.10 ERA in 26 starts. But once he hit Triple-A, he began to struggle. Battling injury throughout the 2019 season, he had a 5.51 ERA in 15 starts in the International League.
In need of pitching depth, Tigers promoted Burrows to the major leagues in 2020; he made five relief appearances with a 5.40 ERA. He was called up for one more appearance for Detroit in 2021 before he was designated for assignment and claimed by Minnesota, where he made five more unsuccessful outings. He surrendered 17 earned runs in 11 total big-league innings that season.
Burrows spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons in a hybrid role in the minor leagues, spending time on the mound as a reliever and starter in the Dodgers and Braves organizations. This season, it’s expected that he’ll primarily pitch out of the bullpen with the belief that his experiences can help the 27-year-old succeed in a new role and organization.
“I’ve bounced around a lot of teams and met some great people,” Burrows said. “Obviously, some inconsistency on the field, so [the goal is] just being more consistent and being a good teammate, being a good guy and leading by example.”
Fightins manager Al Pedrique is confident that the veteran presence Burrows brings to the team can make an impact in multiple ways.
“I’m sure he’s going to be a plus addition for the club,” Pedrique said. “He’s going to help the younger guys a lot, just because he’s pitched in the big leagues. He pitched in the big leagues for a reason, and that’s why we signed him. So, we feel 100% that he’s going to help us on and off the field.”
As Pedrique noted, Burrows has valuable experience, but he’s not only in Reading to be a mentor. He’s a former top prospect and a talented pitcher with a chance to reinvent himself and find success once again. Burrows is ready for the season, hopeful to find the consistency that’s escaped him and potentially climb the ranks once again.
“I’m just going to come at you with everything, throw strikes and get guys out,” he said.
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Barbara Jean
April 5, 2024 at 5:04 am
Need to bring more pitchers up from the system. Need a trial and error and success rotation this season. This is not the major leagues I grew up with. So much more competition.