The Boston Red Sox added three starting pitchers to their roster over the winter — Sonny Gray, Johan Oviedo and Ranger Suárez — and many reporters and fans expected they would be enough to box top prospects Connelly Early and Payton Tolle out of the Opening Day squad. But Boston shocked fans on March 23 by naming Early to the big league roster as a starter.
Early will start the Sox's third game of the year, a Sunday tilt against the Cincinnati Reds, and Johan Oviedo will come out of the bullpen (per Rob Bradford of WEEI). Early deserves the nod after the excellent spring training performance he put together. He allowed three runs on 11 hits with 16 strikeouts and five walks over 17 innings.
In contrast, Oviedo was hit hard in his final start of spring, and his fastball wasn't playing right. He could use a bit more time to figure things out. But his spring wasn't bad, so why not just play him? Or why not promote Tolle?
Many Red Sox reporters believed that Early and Tolle would be sent to the minor leagues to start the season to save a year of service time on their contracts. Boston has recently become aggressive about extending young players early to keep them on inexpensive deals and keep them from walking right when their rookie contracts are up.
Despite promising springs from both players, Connelly Early is more ready for Red Sox roster than Payton Tolle
It also waited as long as possible last season before calling Roman Anthony up, likely to keep him from a top-two finish in the Rookie of the Year race, which would cost the team a year of service time on his contract. The Red Sox were extremely active this offseason compared to season's past, but it would be bold to assume that they're completely through with their prospect stinginess.
Early will need to spend 35 total days in the minor leagues this coming season to retain a full year of service time on his contract, while Tolle needs 46. The days can be non-consecutive, so Early could be (and likely will be) sent down at a later date to rack up that time.
Tolle had a great spring, as well. He surrendered three runs on eight hits with 13 strikeouts and a walk over 10.2 innings in Grapefruit League play. He's still working on his arsenal of secondary pitches to play off his frightening four-seamer, and some time in Triple-A would serve him well — he is just 22, after all.
Connelly Early earned his spot on the Red Sox's Opening Day roster, but it might not last all season
Early's arsenal is more well-rounded and he's had more high-pressure big league experience after his Wild Card start against the New York Yankees in 2025. His spot on the roster might not last all year because of service time considerations, but the Red Sox are also expecting more rotation reinforcements in the coming weeks.
Brayan Bello and Ranger Suárez's starts have been pushed to the back of the Sox's rotation. The two pitchers participated in the World Baseball Classic and didn't get as many innings as they would've had in a traditional spring training. Having an extra starter in the mix gives Boston a bit more flexibility while two of its pitchers are still ramping up.
Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval are still recovering from their respective injuries that caused them to miss the entire 2025 season. The Red Sox have been slow to build them up, and they'll need at least a few weeks of rehab starts with an affiliate before they're ready to face big league bats for the first time in over a year. Early is a great choice to keep in the majors in the interim.
While Early's spot on the Opening Day roster may not last all season, he aboslutely earned the spot after his stellar spring training performance. The Red Sox have so much pitching depth that they could get away with optioning him to Triple-A for a spell and it won't be the end of the world, but he could also pitch so well that they wouldn't be able to justify such a move — just as he forced the issue out of spring training.