Nationals Boss Gives Estimate for When Connelly Early Will Return From IL
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The Washington Nationals made their first move ahead of the trade deadline this past weekend.
In a surprising move that took place late on the night of July 25, the Nationals decided to trade breakout infielder Curtis Mead to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for left-handed pitcher Connelly Early. That not only gives Washington a long-term piece for their rotation, but the high-upside lefty could help them push for the playoffs this year, too.
For that to happen, Early will need to make his return to the mound. He's been on the 15-day injured list since July 1 due to left elbow inflammation, which is a tad concerning. However, the former top prospect is inching closer to his return, as president of baseball operations Paul Toboni estimated when Nationals fans might be able to see their new star pitcher.
Connelly Early Expected To Be Back in August
Per MLB.com, Toboni stated that "he expects Early to return next month."
Jessica Camerato of MLB.com added that Early threw a bullpen session for the Nationals on Monday, and barring a setback, the left-hander "is on track to make a rehab start around Aug. 3."
How long Early remains on a rehab assignment will likely be determined by how he feels. He originally suffered his injury during a start against Washington back on June 30, so he's not quite one month removed from dealing with his inflammation. Because he wasn't deemed to have structural damage to his UCL, he's on the usual timeline for a 4-6 week recovery period. That would have him back roughly around Aug. 12 if it did take him six weeks to be ready for big league action once again.
Depending on what happens ahead of the deadline -- namely in regards to the possible trade of Foster Griffin -- there could be some pressure placed on the pitching staff to cover starts and innings if Early isn't available until mid-August. But whenever Early is set to make his team debut, there should be some excitement for what he can bring to the table.
Connelly Early Should Be Frontline Starter for Nationals
Not only is Early 24 years old with multiple seasons of club control remaining, he is a big-time arm. After he was taken in the fifth round of the 2023 draft by the Red Sox, he rocketed up Boston's farm system and made his major league debut in 2025.
Across his four starts that year, he posted a 2.33 ERA. While he struggled during his lone playoff start where he allowed three earned runs across 3 2/3 innings pitched, that was only the fifth big league outing of his career. Early followed up that success with a 3.44 ERA across 17 starts this season before going on the IL, so his career MLB ERA sits at 3.24 with an ERA+ that's 26 points above the league average of 100.
Early projects as a frontline starter in the majors, and now that he's with the Nationals, he should be the No. 2 behind Cade Cavalli for the foreseeable future until some of their other high-end pitching prospects are ready to arrive in The Show.
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Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai