Boston Red Sox
Boston dealt Early to Washington in exchange for INF Curtis Mead in July.
Once an important member of the 2026 Boston Red Sox starting rotation, Connelly Early made his debut with the Washington Nationals on Saturday.
Early started his first game for his new club since being dealt from the Red Sox in July in exchange for infielder Curtis Mead. Early had been on the injured list since Boston sidelined him on July 1 due to left elbow inflammation.
There were fears that the 24-year-old left-hander may not appear in a game the rest of the season due to his ailment. He ultimately gave Nationals fans a glimpse of what he can offer with a three-inning start against the New York Mets.
Early allowed just one hit and recorded a strikeout in his first start since June 30 as a Red Sox. That outing happened to come against Washington.
He topped out at 94.2 miles per hour on three separate occasions, which was par for the course for his velocity as a healthy member of the Red Sox.
Watch Early record his first strikeout as a National:
Early’s start was brief (34 pitches, 21 strikes), a sensible plan given he returned from a potentially significant throwing arm injury. After the game, he said he was happy with his final line.
“I was trying to make one pitch at a time,” Early said (via MLB.com’s Jessica Camerato). “It ended up probably my cleanest three innings of the season.”
Early had experienced some growing pains to begin his second season when he began the year in Boston, but the youngster has the makings of a future top-of-the-rotation arm for Washington. He beat out Red Sox southpaw Payton Tolle for a spot in the rotation out of spring training, and posted a 3.44 ERA with 93 strikeouts across 91.2 innings before being traded.
Nationals manager Blake Butera is rightfully excited about Early’s future with the franchise.
“Given what he’s done before coming over here, he’s going to be a huge, huge part of this,” Butera said. “We’re really excited about what he’s going to bring to us.”
Boston continues to wait to see its return from the trade make an impact. Mead is still working his way back from a left wrist fracture sustained in his second at-bat with the Red Sox in August.
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