The fifth spot in the Boston Red Sox's rotation is up for grabs and multiple reports state that offseason trade addition Johan Oviedo has the best path to the job. His competitors, Connelly Early and Payton Tolle, are putting up quite a fight, however.
Oviedo's first outing of spring was a rough one, with three walks over 1.2 innings. He was reportedly sick during his Red Sox debut, and his second start made that all the more clear — the former Pittsburgh Pirate let up two hits but no runs and fanned four batters over three innings.
Oviedo's second start reinforced his status as the top pick for the fifth rotation spot, but he may also get help from some external factors. Boston will take service time into consideration when deciding who will take up the back of the rotation, and after being forced to call Tolle and Early up as depth starters late last season, the clock is already ticking on them.
According to Chirs Cotillo of MassLive, the Red Sox plan to option Early and Tolle back to Triple-A if neither ends up beating Oviedo out for the fifth rotation spot. Not only could they still use the experience there, but adding them to the bullpen would continue the clock on their service time.
Johan Oviedo likely to win Red Sox's fifth rotation spot to preserve a year of Connelly Early and Payton Tolle's service time
Tolle spent 31 games in the majors last season after Boston called him up to face the Pirates on August 29. Early made his big league debut less than two weeks later and made quick work of the Athletics. He was on the big league roster for 20 days.
Cotillo reports that Early would need to spend 35 days in the minor leagues this season to avoid sending him to free agency a year early, and Tolle needs 46. The days can be non-consecutive, so the Red Sox could call them up and send them down as needed in the event of an injury or other unforeseen unavailability.
It makes sense that the Red Sox want to keep Early and Tolle under team control for as long as possible. After trading Mookie Betts and letting Xander Bogaerts walk, Boston has taken to extending homegrown players early to avoid many more similar disasters. Early and Tolle are some of the best extension candidates before the season, but both are likely aware of their value. If the Red Sox don't approach or can't get either player to sign an early deal, then service time considerations will come into play.
Early and Tolle are still young (23 and 22, respectively) and there's no reason for Boston to rush them to the big leagues when its rotation is so strong without them. As long as Oviedo can continue his upward trajectory, refining his command, he should be the fifth starter in the Sox's rotation on Opening Day.