Connelly Early Stuns, Earns Red Sox Opening Day Roster Spot

The Boston Red Sox's pitching is looking very good heading into the 2026 season.

Oct 2, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Connelly Early (71) throws to the plate in the first inning against the New York Yankees during game three of the Wildcard round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Boston Red Sox are in a great position when it comes to the starting rotation.

Boston entered camp with four guaranteed starters: Garrett Crochet, Sonny Gray, Brayan Bello and Ranger Suárez. The fifth spot was up in the air with Connelly Early, Payton Tolle and Johan Oviedo all in contention for the spot.

Oviedo looked like the favorite all throughout camp, but Early and Tolle pitched well enough to keep the competition close and keep it in the limelight all throughout Spring Training. And then on Monday night, the Red Sox raised some eyebrows. Boston announced that Tolle, Zack Kelly and Tyler Uberstine all were optioned down to the minors. Also, the Red Sox announced that Tommy Kahnle was reassigned to minor league camp. Early and Oviedo were both notably absent.

The #RedSox today announced the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/HOX70RhSta

— Red Sox (@RedSox) March 23, 2026

The young flamethrower has impressed

Mar 6, 2026; Lakeland, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Connelly Early (71) pitches during the fourth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

When camp opened up, the expectation certainly was that Oviedo would be in the majors and both Early and Tolle would be down in the minors. When it comes to Early specifically, he pitched well enough to really force the issue. Early made five appearances throughout Spring Training, including four starts, and pitched to a 1.59 ERA and 16-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 17 innings pitched. Early wasn't just one of the best overall pitchers for Boston throughout Spring Training, but one of the most dominant hurlers in general in the Grapefruit League.

Oviedo was great as well throughout camp, although his numbers were skewed by his appearance on Monday. Oviedo made five starts for Boston and logged a 4.91 ERA while allowing eight earned runs in 14 1/3 innings pitched. It's important to note that six of those runs came on Monday. So, he allowed just two total runs across his first four appearances.

The future is bright for the Red Sox no matter what role Early is in. He got an opportunity with Boston in the majors in 2025 and had a 2.33 ERA in four starts. He pitched well enough that Boston turned to him to start a playoff game after making just four career appearances in the regular season.

It appears as though he's impressed the team yet again. He was given an opportunity to fight for a spot with the club out of camp and he impressed when the lights were at their brightest. Tolle's time will come at some point. He had a 2.53 ERA in four appearances throughout Spring Training. He showed improvement as well. Overall, it's a good time to be a Boston fan.