Report: Red Sox No. 6 Prospect Making MLB Debut After Surprise Dustin May News

All week, Dustin May was expected to start Tuesday's game from the Boston Red Sox in West Sacramento, and it was Wednesday's game that was supposed to be up in the air.

Left-handed pitching prospect Connelly Early, ranked No. 6 in the Boston system by MLB Pipeline, was clearly an option to pitch that Wednesday game, as the Red Sox held him back from making his start on Sunday. But appropriately enough, Early is arriving sooner than expected.

On Tuesday, the "Foul Territory" podcast reported on social media that Early was being called up and was expected to start the second game of the series against the A's in place of May. And an unpleasant surprise accompanied the promotion: May is headed to the injured list.

Early to the majors, May to the IL

According to Chris Cotillo of MassLive, Early was already in Sacramento by Tuesday morning local time, so the Red Sox had to know placing May on the IL was a possibility. At the time of publication, the specific nature of the injury was not confirmed by Sports Illustrated.

Early, the Red Sox's fifth-round pick out of Virginia in 2023, has been a steady riser through the system, posting a 3.32 ERA in 45 minor-league outings and striking out 274 batters in 206 2/3 innings. He'll face an A's lineup that is significantly tougher against righties than lefties, giving him something of a competitive advantage.

Early is not on the 40-man roster at the time of publication, so a corresponding move will have to be made to create space. Someone could be moved to the 60-day injured list (Richard Fitts? Jordan Hicks?), or if not, a player will need to be designated for assignment.

Meanwhile, the trade to land May from the Los Angeles Dodgers at the end of July looks worse for the Red Sox by the day. The 27-year-old righty posted a 5.40 ERA in 28 1/3 innings for Boston, and after throwing over 100 innings this year for the first time in his big-league career, it appears his body is letting him down once again.

Where the Red Sox go from here is anyone's question. Another rookie, Payton Tolle, would be next up in the rotation for Wednesday's game, but he's never pitched on four days' rest as a professional. If the Red Sox go with a bullpen game, they'll start Tolle on Friday night in the opener against the New York Yankees.

Two question marks out of five rotation spots is a scary way to live down the stretch. But it's all the Red Sox have now after a season full of unexpected twists and turns.

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