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In a rare miss for Tampa Bay, the Rays could have had Burke from the Angels for Josh Lowe last winter but instead decided to do a three-team deal that netted them Gavin Lux from Cincinnati. Lux has been absent all year, while Burke has posted a 2.33 ERA in 73 1/3 innings. He’s surely looking at a nice multiyear deal in free agency this winter.

The Reds wanted to stay away from Emilio Pagán today, so Burke had the ninth. It would have worked out fine, but with two on and two outs, Dane Myers, seemingly feeling left fielder TJ Friedl close to him, had a flyball go off his glove for a two-base error. After that came an intentional walk, a single and two more walks before Burke finally departed. It goes as Burke’s first blown save after two saves and 15 holds in 64 appearances. His ERA, though, dropped to 2.73 since all of the runs were unearned.

Entrusted with a three-run lead in the ninth, Burke bent but didn’t break as he retired Alika Williams and Jonathan Ornelas after the homer to lock down the save. Emilio Pagán had thrown two days in a row and remains Cincinnati’s closer.

If you’re gonna get your first save of the season, do it against a team you were employed with for a long time. Burke isn’t likely to see many more save chances going forward.

The 29-year-old southpaw moved from the Angels to the Rays and then to the Reds as part of a three-team deal that sent Josh Lowe to the Angels and Gavin Lux to the Rays. Burke was a key cog in the Halos’ bullpen in 2025, compiling a 3.36 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and a 52/18 K/BB ratio across 61 2/3 innings. He’ll add a valuable left-handed arm to the back end of the Reds’ bullpen.

The 29-year-old southpaw didn’t even get to try on a uniform with the Rays as he was subsequently flipped to the Reds for Gavin Lux as part of the three-team swap on Friday.

Burke did a nice job in his first full season with the Angels, picking up seven wins and 15 holds while amassing a 3.36 ERA in relief. This will be his final season before he becomes eligible for free agency at age 30.