Connelly Early was one of the final additions to the Boston Red Sox's Opening Day roster, which took most fans by surprise. He gives the team an extra rotation option as Johan Oviedo finds his footing and Ranger Suárez and Brayan Bello warm up after getting fewer innings of work than expected in the World Baseball Classic.
Early showed that the Red Sox were absolutely right to trust him. The top prospect made his 2026 debut at Great American Ball Park against the Cincinnati Reds and picked up right where he left off in 2025. He allowed one run on five hits with six strikeouts and two walks over 5.1 innings. Early gave the Sox 96 pitches and 61 of them went for strikes.
The Red Sox may have seen this success coming after Early's stellar big league debut last season. He clocked a 2.33 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, 29 strikeouts and four walks over 19.1 innings, which was a great enough debut to warrant giving him a Wild Card series start against the New York Yankees.
Some reporters and fans have theorized that Early's place in the Red Sox's rotation is only temporary. Boston traded for Oviedo over the winter and he's made positive strides to help him refine his arsenal and throw more strikes. He logged a 3.57 ERA with 42 strikeouts and 32 walks over 40.1 innings last season in his return from UCL surgery, and he posted a 4.91 ERA with 17 strikeouts and eight walks over 14.2 innings in spring training.
Connelly Early's 2026 debut has already made it hard for Red Sox to justify taking rotation spot from him
Dotted. pic.twitter.com/74n0Dgk5kf
— Red Sox (@RedSox) March 29, 2026
The Red Sox also have Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval recovering from injuries. Where they'll pitch when they're healthy remains to be seen, but Sandoval has no minor league options on his contract, so he'll need to be on the roster in some capacity, either as a starter or a reliever.
Early's early body of work could make it hard for the Red Sox to justify taking a rotation spot away from him, though. While the team spent the offseason prioritizing prevention additions, Boston's issues with advancing runners in scoring position have resurfaced in 2026 (yes, there's still time for that to change). As long as it struggles to score runs, it'll have to keep as many off the board as possible, and Early has shown he can do that with a high degree of success.
The Red Sox have more pitching than they know what to do with, a great problem to have in this league. Early has three minor league options on his deal, and sending him down for just over a month would award Boston will a full year of service time on his contract. But if he's going to be one of the best pitchers on the team, that will be a hard decision.