Red Sox's Alex Cora Sidesteps Payton Tolle Question Amid Rotation Uncertainty

What's the plan for that No. 5 starter role?

WooSox pitcher Payton Tolle gets ready to throw a pitch during his first Triple-A start on Aug. 10, 2025 at Polar Park. | WooSox Photo/Ashley Green / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Boston Red Sox are no closer to a solution to their No. 5 starter role than they were the day they demoted Walker Buehler to the bullpen. In fact, all they've done is lose an option.

After Richard Fitts got hurt during his bulk relief role (effectively a start) on Monday, Boston's next game without a scheduled starter is Saturday. One would think by then, they'll have to have a more concrete plan for the rotation moving forward.

Meanwhile, there are a pair of lefties in Triple-A who have been rotation candidates to circle of late: Kyle Harrison, who has yet to pitch in the majors since arriving in the Rafael Devers trade, and 2024 second-round pick Payton Tolle, who has flown through the farm system after beginning the year in High-A.

Is Payton Tolle an option to pitch on Saturday?

Harrison may be the lefty with big-league experience under his belt, but Tolle has the nastier stuff and has appeared more dominant against the same competition this month. Plus, Harrison is scheduled to start Tuesday night, while Tolle is slated for Thursday and could theoretically be pushed back a day or two.

So is Tolle even an option to get the call to the majors and pitch sometime late this week? Manager Alex Cora was playing it coy on Tuesday.

“We haven’t talked about that but there’s guys available down there that I think they can do the job at the big league level," Cora said, per Christopher Smith of MassLive.

Tolle, 22, went five innings, allowed just one hit, and struck out nine in his most recent start (Friday). That brought his strikeout total to a gaudy 133 across 91 2/3 innings this season.

Fortunately, there is no hard deadline for Tolle to be added to the 40-man roster in order to retain his postseason eligibilty, as players simply have to be in the organization by Saturday at 11:59 p.m. ET. But they'd still be well-served to get him a few looks in the regular season if they plan to use him in October as well.

Eventually, the Red Sox will have to make a decision. They can put it off on Tuesday, but not for many days thereafter.

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