Best Comeback of 2023 Belongs to Cubs Pitcher Nick Burdi

Nick Burdi has been in pro baseball for nearly a decade, but he’s spent a lot of that time injured, rehabbing and fighting to keep his MLB dream alive. The hard work is paying off because after not being in the majors since the summer of 2020, Burdi is now back in the show.

The Chicago Cubs added Burdi to their roster on Monday, calling him up from Triple-A in time to be in the bullpen for the team’s series opener against the Houston Astros.

When you look back at Burdi’s baseball journey, you’ll see why this is one of the best comeback stories in 2023.

Burdi, now 30-years-old, was picked in the second round of the 2014 MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins, the second time he was selected in the draft. The first time was back in 2011, when the Twins first drafted him in the 24th round. The right-handed pitcher didn’t sign and decided to continue his playing career at the University of Louisville. In three seasons with Louisville, Burdi recorded a 1.79 ERA in 95.1 innings, which included 18 saves in his junior season, when he had a 0.49 ERA in 37 innings.

Things haven’t quite been smooth for Burdi since he signed with the Twins out of Louisville in 2014. The right-hander did make it up to Double-A in 2015, but then the 2016 season was the start of what would be a series of devastating injuries. Burdi only threw three innings in 2016, missing almost the entire year because of a bone bruise in his pitching elbow. But he came back and was great to begin the 2017 season, posting a 0.53 ERA in 17 innings of relief in Double-A. But then another setback.

In May 2017, Burdi underwent Tommy John surgery, ending his season and his time in the Twins organization. In the offseason, Burdi was picked up by the Philadelphia Phillies in the Rule 5 Draft and was then traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for international signing bonus money. Burdi did pitch in 2018, returning from Tommy John surgery in July. The right-hander made 10 total appearances in 2018 in the minors, before making his first two MLB appearance in September with the Pirates.

Burdi made the Pirates Opening Day roster in 2019, and he was having an OK season until he gave up five earned runs in a third of an inning on April 22, 2019, against the Arizona Diamondbacks. That was his last appearance of the 2019 season.

On June 25, 2019, Burdi underwent thoracic outlet surgery to relieve symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome.

Via MLB.com.

The thoracic outlet lies at the lower part of the neck, beginning just above and behind the collarbone and extending into the upper arm and chest. Thoracic Outlet Syndrome results when the nerves and blood vessels in this area are compressed, resulting in pain, weakness, fatigue and numbness or tingling in the arm or hand, particularly with activities in which the arm is elevated.

During surgery to correct Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, both the first rib — the uppermost of the ribs, which is attached to the first thoracic vertebrae at the base of the neck, angles down and connects to the sternum just below the collarbone — and the scalene muscles are removed to clear space for the nerves in the thoracic outlet.

But once again, Burdi came back. In the shortened 2020 season, the righty made three relief outings with the Pirates. However, after the regular season ended, Burdi underwent Tommy John surgery again. In November, the pitcher was designated for assignment.

Burdi signed on with the San Diego Padres later in the offseason, but he didn’t pitch in 2021, as he was still recovery from Tommy John surgery. He was with the Padres’ Triple-A team in 2022, but didn’t pitch, was released in April and then re-signed with the Padres in May, but didn’t pitch in a game in 2022 either.

That brings us to this past offseason, when the Cubs selected Burdi in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft. The right-handed pitcher had not appeared in a game since Aug. 3, 2020. We saw a bit of Burdi during spring training and the right-handed pitcher looked better than ever before.

The Cubs assigned Burdi to Triple-A Iowa to begin the 2023 season and he has been nasty out of the bullpen.

On Thursday, Burdi made his 11th relief appearance for the Iowa Cubs and he picked up his fourth save of the season, retiring the side in order on nine pitches. The right-hander isn’t just throwing nasty sliders, as Burdi has backed up his reputation of being a hard-thrower, reaching triple digits on the radar gun and consistently throwing in the upper 90s this season.

The right-handed pitcher has struck out 19 batters in 10.2 innings this season. Burdi has given up a total of four earned runs, but three of those came in one outing on April 14, when he only recorded one out. Besides that rough appearance, Burdi has posted a 0.87 ERA in 10.1 innings.

Welcome back, Nick Burdi.