Ryan Matthew Burr (born May 28, 1994) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

Amateur career

Burr attended

Highlands Ranch High School Highlands Ranch High School, commonly referred to as Ranch or HRHS, is a public high school in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. It is part of the Douglas County School District. History Highlands Ranch opened in 1987 as the third high school in the ...

Highlands Ranch, Colorado Highlands Ranch is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Douglas County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The p ...

. The Texas Rangers selected Burr in the 33rd round of the

2012 Major League Baseball draft The 2012 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto Rico Baseball Ac ...

. He did not sign with the Rangers and attended

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

Arizona State Sun Devils The Arizona State Sun Devils are the sport, athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's Varsity team, varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Divisi ...

. He finished his career with a school record 38 career saves.

Professional career

Arizona Diamondbacks

After his junior year, Burr was drafted by the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

in the fifth round of the

2015 MLB draft The 2015 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks finished the 2014 season ...

. He made his professional debut with the

Hillsboro Hops The Hillsboro Hops are a Minor League Baseball team in the Pacific Northwest, northwest United States, located in Hillsboro, Oregon, a city in the Portland metropolitan area. The Hops are members of the Northwest League and are the High-A affilia ...

and ended the year with the

Kane County Cougars The Kane County Cougars are a professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois, and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB). They play their home games a ...

, posting a combined 4–1 record and 1.06 ERA in 34 innings pitched between both clubs. Burr returned to Kane County in 2016 and posted a 1–2 record and 3.86 ERA in only 23 innings pitched. He began 2017 with Kane County and was later promoted to the

Visalia Rawhide The Visalia Rawhide are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Visalia, California, and have played their home games at Valley Strong Ballpark since their ...

Chicago White Sox

On August 11, 2017, the Chicago White Sox acquired Burr from Arizona for international signing bonus pool money. Chicago assigned him to the

Winston-Salem Dash The Winston-Salem Dash are a Minor League Baseball team in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They are a High-A team in the South Atlantic League and have been a farm team of the Chicago White Sox since 1997. The Dash began playing their home games ...

. In total innings pitched between Kane County, Visalia, and Winston-Salem, Burr pitched to a 2–2 record, 1.65 ERA, and a 1.12 WHIP. Burr began the 2018 season with the

Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The Baron ...

and was promoted to the Triple-A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field ...

in late July, appearing in 7 games out of the bullpen and posting a 1.08 ERA over innings pitched. He was promoted to the major leagues on August 22, 2018, and made his major league debut on August 24 out of the bullpen, retiring all four batters he faced and striking out two in the team's 7–2 loss to the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

. Burr underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

in June 2019 ending his 2019 season and causing him to miss a sizable portion of the 2020 season. Burr was non-tendered by Chicago on December 2, 2019, and became a free agent. On December 3, he re-signed with Chicago on a minor league contract. Burr did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He re-signed with Chicago on a new minor league deal on November 2, 2020. On May 27, 2021, Burr was selected to the active roster. In 34 appearances for Chicago, he registered a 2.45 ERA with 33 strikeouts across innings of work. The following year, Burr posted a 6.00 ERA across 8 appearances before the White Sox released him on June 13, 2022.

Tampa Bay Rays

On August 30, 2022, Burr signed a minor league deal with the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

organization. He spent the ensuing season with the Triple–A

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

, recording a 3.09 ERA with 23 strikeouts across innings of work. Burr elected free agency following the season on November 6, 2023.

Philadelphia Phillies

On December 12, 2023, Burr signed a minor league deal with the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

. In 15 games for the Triple–A

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and they are named in reference to pig iron, used ...

, he logged a 2.16 ERA with 29 strikeouts across innings pitched.

Toronto Blue Jays

On May 30, 2024, Burr was traded to the

in exchange for cash considerations. The following day, Toronto selected his contract, adding him to their active roster. In 34 appearances (4 starts) for Toronto, Burr compiled an 0-2 record and 4.13 ERA with 47 strikeouts across innings pitched. Burr began the 2025 campaign on the injured list due to right shoulder fatigue. He was transferred to the 60-day injured list on April 27, 2025. Burr was activated for his season debut on July 6. He made two scoreless appearances for Toronto, recording one win and three strikeouts over two innings of work. On July 11, Burr was placed directly on the 60-day injured list due to a right

rotator cuff The rotator cuff (SITS muscles) is a group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the human shoulder and allow for its extensive range of motion. Of the seven scapulohumeral muscles, four make up the rotator cuff. The four muscles a ...

strain. On July 18, it was announced that Burr would undergo season-ending surgery to address a capsule injury in his throwing shoulder.

References

External links

Arizona State Sun Devils bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burr, Ryan 1994 births Living people Arizona State Sun Devils baseball players Baseball players from Colorado Birmingham Barons players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Charlotte Knights players Chicago White Sox players Dunedin Blue Jays players Durham Bulls players Florida Complex League Blue Jays players Hillsboro Hops players Kane County Cougars players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Major League Baseball pitchers Sportspeople from Highlands Ranch, Colorado Toronto Blue Jays players Visalia Rawhide players Winston-Salem Dash players 21st-century American sportsmen