Jared Burton

[William Malone]

Levi Jared Burton was born on June 2, 1981 in Westminster, South Carolina.

He was an eighth round pick of the Oakland Athletics in 2002. Burton spent five years in their minor league system, before getting selected in the Rule-5 Draft by the Cincinnati Reds in 2006.

His big league debut didn't go that well, walking three batters while only recording one out. Things quickly got better, and Burton finished his rookie year with a 2.51 ERA across 47 appearances. He established himself as a viable middle relief option over the next few seasons, but various injuries limited him to just ten appearances between the 2010 and 2011 seasons. The Reds outrighed him off the roster following the 2011 season. Burton finished his tenure in Cincinnati with a 3.41 ERA.

The Minnesota Twins signed Burton to minor league deal on November 12, 2011. He was able to make the Opening Day roster, and proceeded to have a career year at the age of 31. Fully healthy for the first time in almost three years, Burton had a 2.18 ERA with a 0.919 WHIP during his 64 appearances in 2012. While the Twins struggled to a 66-96 record that season, the back of their bullpen had become a strength. This was the same season in which future three time All-Star Glen Perkins began to establish himself as the full time closer. Casey Fien also boasted a 2.06 ERA and 0.971 WHIP.

Burton remained with the Twins for two more seasons, pitching to a 4.08 ERA over 139 games between the 2013 and 2014 campaigns. These numbers were ballooned a bit by a bad first half in 2014. Burton had a 5.45 ERA across 35 appearances between Opening Day and the end of June that season. He had a 3.19 ERA over 33 appearances after July 1st.

He signed with the New York Yankees ahead of the 2015 season, but was released after spring training. He re-signed with the Yankees on a minor league deal a few days later. After spending all of 2015 in the minor leagues, Burton was suspended 50 games for a failed drug test in January 2016. This dampened his free agent market, and he never played professionally again. 

 

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