Finally healthy, Pirates reliever Nick Burdi offers intrigue
Nick Burdi is not sure where. But somewhere in the Chicago-area home of the Pittsburgh Pirates reliever is a human bone.
Not just any bone —Burdi’s right first rib.
“I don’t know where it is now,” Burdi said with a sheepish chuckle last week at PiratesFest.
“They give you a whole instruction in how to clean it, so it doesn’t rot and stuff. … It honestly might be sitting in a Ziploc bag at this point.”
Burdi might not be all that fond of the pinky-sized bone that once partially encircled the area by the top of his torso near his throwing shoulder and neck.
After all, that rib, in part, facilitated the neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) that plagued Burdi for three years and was part of what has kept him from a burgeoning major league career. TOS occurs when “blood vessels or nerves in the space between your collarbone and your first rib are compressed, causing pain in your shoulders and neck and numbness in your fingers,” according to the Mayo Clinic.
The battle with TOS came to a head during a scary moment last April when Burdi felt a painful snap in his arm delivering a pitch at PNC Park. He collapsed to the ground in pain, grabbing his arm, and many who saw it feared the worst.
#Pirates No. 24 prospect Nick Burdi, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2017, exited tonight's game clutching his right elbow/bicep after releasing a 96.7 FB.
Here's @adamdberry with the details: https://t.co/ZkdahYq6gH pic.twitter.com/kSxJS8PUGu
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 23, 2019
Ultimately, though, the incident led the 27-year-old Burdi down the path to a corrective procedure that he said has caused all the symptoms he’d dealt with so long to “vanish” and has him at “full strength” with spring training on the horizon.
That procedure involved removing two scalene (neck) muscles and the rib that’s now at Burdi’s home.
“(The TOS) was something that had been there, and I think over the years it just kept accumulating and building more and more stress,” said Burdi, who was acquired during the 2017 Rule 5 Draft, “and I think the incident last year was kind of caused over time.
“But it’s all fixed now. Nothing else (to worry about), and yeah, moving on.”
For Burdi, that could mean finally moving on to regular MLB work, six years after the Minnesota Twins made him a second-round draft pick. Burdi was a college standout at Louisville, helping them reach the College World Series during his final season.
The delay hasn’t been of Burdi’s doing as much as it has related to injury. First, it was a bone bruise that limited him to three innings in 2016 with the Minnesota organization. Tommy John surgery came in 2017 after just 17 Double-A innings.
The resulting rehab limited him to 12 1/3 innings over four levels in the Pirates organization (including the majors) in 2018, and the on-field TOS-induced “snap” ended his 2019 after just 8 2/3 April innings for the Pirates.
“I appreciate everyone reaching out and their kind words, but at the end of the day, it is kind of you in your corner trying to do it yourself,” Burdi said. “People below you (on the depth chart) all move up a step, and the season here continues on with or without you.
“So just having the mindset of going out, and it’s your career, it’s your life, so you have got to make the most of it.”
Even though Burdi has been injured, being a Rule 5 draft pick means he must be active on a major league roster for 90 days before he can be optioned to the minor leagues. Burdi has fulfilled 57 of those 90 days.
Burdi appeared to be making the most of his first true MLB opportunity, albeit in a small sample size, last April. Over a 12-day span, he made six appearances — all but one coming during the late innings of a close game — and in those high-leverage situations, Burdi showed his stuff. His fastball averaged 97 mph, his slider induced swings and misses, and opponents managed just two hits and no walks with 10 strikeouts in those six innings before the appearance that ended his season.
It was enough to show the potential that made Burdi was such a high draft pick and what makes him an intriguing late-inning option for the Pirates this season and beyond.
“Losing Burdi early on in the season was devastating for us,” starter Joe Musgrove said, “because he looked really, really good.”
Burdi tweaked his delivery to emphasize his lower body in the offseason, and he has been throwing bullpen sessions the past few weeks.
Pain-free and feeling full strength, Burdi is ready for a fresh start.
“To have it taken away, it was frustrating,” he said. “But it kind of gives you that edge and that momentum this year to get back to it.”
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Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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