The Boston Red Sox are facing the New York Yankees in a three-game series finale on Thursday. Boston is looking to salvage the series and avoid being swept.
Boston is off to a woeful 9-15 start, while the Yankees are thriving in the American League East with a 15-9 record. To address pitching issues, the Red Sox have made a roster decision on a southpaw starter before the game.
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Red Sox Officially Recall Payton Tolle
GettyThe Red Sox have a unique reason to keep Payton Tolle and Connelly Early off their Opening Day roster
The roster move, which Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reported late last night, is the Red Sox calling up southpaw starter Payton Tolle to make his first start of the season during Thursday’s finale against the Yankees.
The corresponding move, as reported by the Red Sox social media team, is lefty reliever Eduardo Rivera.
Tolle will make his fourth start of his MLB career on Thursday.
In seven appearances and three starts last season, Tolle gave up 11 earned runs and five home runs over 16.1 innings. His ERA is 6.06, but he’s still a young pitcher (23) with lots of time to develop.
Per MLBTradeRumors.com’s Steve Adams, the premier baseball news site, gave some insight on Tolle’s starter prowess and journey:
“Tolle currently sits 11th on Baseball Americaâs ranking of the sportâs top-100 prospects. Heâs 15th over at MLB.com. The 23-year-old reported to camp this spring in hopes of securing a rotation spot after making a brief MLB debut late last season, but fellow top prospect and left-hander Connelly Early wound up claiming the lone rotation vacancy. Tolle opened the season in Triple-A Worcester, where heâs been excellent. In three starts, heâs totaled 15 innings and held opponents to five earned runs (3.00 ERA) on 12 hits and four walks with 19 strikeouts.”
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Red Sox Need to Turn Things Around
GettyBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – APRIL 22: Eduardo Rivera #99 of the Boston Red Sox pitches during his MLB debut in the sixth inning against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park on April 22, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jaiden Tripi/Getty Images)
It will be interesting to see how much runway the Red Sox give Payton Tolle this go-around in a new MLB stint. It’s clear the Red Sox are trying some new arms, as they can’t afford to fall into a deeper hole, and especially fighting to NOT get swept by the New York Yankees.
Is Payton Tolle the answer? That’s unclear, but he will get the chance to prove himself against Boston’s biggest rival.
The Red Sox spent a lot of the offseason bolstering their pitching depth, and less than a month into the season, that depth is being tested.
Arms like Jovan Oviedo and Sonny Gray have gone down, and Boston is still awaiting the returns of Patrick Sandoval and Kutter Crawford.
This new stint for Tolle will have all Red Sox fans watching with a keen eye.
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