FORT MYERS, Fla. — Red Sox rookie Connelly Early is competing with righty Johan Oviedo for the fifth rotation spot.
Early, a 23-year-old lefty, has made a strong case. He has allowed three earned runs in 12 innings (2.25 ERA) across four outings (three starts) in Grapefruit League action. Opponents are batting .222 against him.
But his performance during spring training might not be the only factor that determines whether he wins the job. MLB service time rules could influence the decision.
If Early spends 35 days in the minor leagues this season, the Red Sox would receive an extra year of control. He would hit free agency after the 2032 season, not after 2031. As a result, the Red Sox have some incentive to send Early to the minors to begin the 2026 season. The team faces a similar calculation with fellow rookie Payton Tolle, who must spend 45 days in the minors for Boston to gain that extra year.
The Red Sox have been able to lock up several young players, including Roman Anthony, Brayan Bello, Kristian Campbell and Ceddanne Rafaela, to long-term extensions. But they have not approached Early about a contract extension to this point, according to an industry source.
Early said the service time factor isn’t on his mind.
“No, I don’t think about that,” he said. “I just go out there and throw the ball and we’ll see what happens at the end of spring training. But just going out there throwing the ball, trying to compete for your spot.”
The lefty pitched 3 ⅔ innings, allowing two runs (one earned), five hits (two doubles) and one walk while striking out one in an 8-5 loss to the Twins at Hammond Stadium on Thursday.
“I feel like I’m doing a solid job (this spring). Today, not a good enough job,” Early said. “But obviously with how the wind was, I want to keep the ball on the ground a little bit more. Didn’t do a great job of that, but still good enough with the pitch count. Shapes were really solid, so gotta look at the positives and just get back at it next week.”
Early topped out at 96.4 mph and averaged 94.9 mph with his 19 four-seam fastballs. He also mixed in 14 sliders, 12 curveballs, nine changeups, four sweepers and four sinkers, per Baseball Savant.
“If the velocity holds, that’s great, but I’d like a little bit more swing and miss in there and keep the ball on the ground a little bit more,” Early said.
The Red Sox promoted Early last Sept. 9 to make his major league debut. He posted a 2.33 ERA in four regular season starts, then started Game 3 of the Wild Card Series against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium.
Early put on size this offseason and his velocity has ticked up. He has averaged 95.1 mph with his heater this spring, up from his average 94.0 mph last year. His fastball has a 96.0 mph perceived velocity.
“We saw this last year; the only thing now is that he’s stronger,” manager Alex Cora said. “I challenged him right after the season — him and Tolle. Basically similar to what we did the previous years. They got to become monsters. They got to be big and strong. It’s 162 (game season), 30 starts, if they’re here or whatever they’re at. So the more physical, the better. He did an outstanding job in the offseason, checking all the boxes. It was a good offseason for him and now he’s performing at this level.”