Red Sox's Connelly Early Promotion Could Pay Huge Dividends

A brief refresher on the Prospect Promotion Incentive

Mar 18, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Connelly Early (71) throws a pitch against the New York Yankees in the second inning during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Connelly Early earned his way to the Boston Red Sox's opening day roster, and there could be widespread benefits as a result.

For most of the spring, it seemed likely that the Red Sox would send Early to Triple-A to start the year, because they had five quality veteran starters healthy, and they could get an extra year of service time if he spends 35 days on the Triple-A roster this year.

However, the Red Sox announced on Tuesday that Early had indeed made the team, thanks in part to the slow buildups for vets Brayan Bello and Ranger Suárez, who participated in the World Baseball Classic. And that comes with its own potential perks for the club.

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What Early's promotion could mean for Red Sox

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

By breaking camp on the opening day roster, Early could net the Red Sox future draft compensation if he wins Rookie of the Year and/or finishes top three in American League Cy Young Award voting this season. If he doesn't, he could still get them a future pick if he finishes top three in Cy Young voting before hitting arbitration, assuming he gets a full year of service time (172 days) during the season.

Those draft picks would come at the end of the first round in the year following Early's award recognition. The process is known as the Prospect Promotion Incentive, which was created in 2022 to prevent teams from continuing to manipulate their top prospects' service time at the start of their rookie seasons.

To be eligible for the PPI, prospects have to be in the preseason Top 100 on two of three major lists -- MLB Pipeline, Baseball America, and ESPN. Early, thanks in large part to his impressive showing at the end of last year in the majors, was comfortably on all three lists.

The Red Sox and their fans alike have been wowed by Early's mound presence, calm demeanor, and excellent command throughout his time in the organization, and he'll have a chance to provide even more value than his production is worth this year if he becomes the AL's best rookie.

That journey begins on Sunday, when Early gets the ball for the third and final game of the opening series against the Cincinnati Reds.