It was a long night on Tuesday for the Boston Red Sox. To go along with an offensive outage, a fight that led to multiple ejections, and the loss, starting pitcher Connelly Early also had to exit early with “left elbow discomfort.”
Early had been pitching well, not allowing a run through 4.0 innings and 61 pitches. That would eventually lead to the bullpen letting the floodgates open up, and the Red Sox snapping a five-game winning streak.
Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy shared after the game that Early is going to undergo imaging on Wednesday. Other than that, all the team knows for now is that he felt something in his throwing elbow, and they wanted to exercise an abundance of caution with the rookie.
This comes as injuries are stacking up for the Red Sox rotation. The most notable of those, of course, is to Garrett Crochet. However, they came into the year with injuries to Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford that they’ve yet to come back from. On top of that, Johan Oviedo was added to the 60-Day IL back in April with a flexor strain.
What Connelly Early Said About His Level of Concern
GettyBoston Red Sox SP Connelly Early
Any time “elbow discomfort” comes up for a pitcher, there’s a tendency to expect the worst. In particular, with Tommy John surgery now so common in baseball. Luckily, Connelly Early is feeling relatively confident about the injury.
After the game, Early was able to speak to the media and downplay how serious it is for the time being.
“I am personally not too concerned, as of right now,” Connelly Early said. “But we’ll see tomorrow with the imaging. Just kind of trying to figure out, basically, based on the imaging, what we’ll do from there… Yeah, it’s tough. I thought I was throwing the ball really well. I felt really good going into the game. So, just an unfortunate thing happened there, but we’ll just see what happens tomorrow.”
That, of course, doesn’t mean it isn’t a serious concern for Early. The imaging that the Red Sox are sending him for should give some more information on that, but there’s still some room for confidence there.
“Obviously want to be cautious about things,” Early added. “So, [I] mentioned it and they were like, ‘I think that’s the right move, just to make sure you’re not [hurt].”
One thing is certain, if the Red Sox are going to get back into the Wild Card race, they need their starting pitching. It’s the strength of the team, and without it, the offense isn’t designed to keep up in high-scoring affairs. Early, even as a rookie, is a key piece of that.
Cracking the rotation on Opening Day, Early has now pitched in 17 games and made 17 starts this season. In that time, he’s thrown 91.2 innings to a 3.44 ERA and a 1.255 WHIP. He has 9.1 strikeouts per nine and 1.5 home runs per nine. So, there’s room to improve, but it’s still been an impressive start to Early’s career.
Who Could the Red Sox Replace Early With?
GettyBoston Red Sox SP Connelly Early
The hope, for the time being, is still that Connelly Early is going to avoid any long-term issues with the elbow. However, there is always room to be concerned when it comes to those kinds of injuries, and the Red Sox do have a few options to replace him in the rotation.
The most obvious choice for the Red Sox would be Brayan Bello. At one point, he was Boston’s Opening Day starter. This season, he had massive struggles in the first inning and would eventually be sent down to Triple-A to figure things out as best he could. So, if the Red Sox think he’s ready to come back up, he’s the obvious first choice, but he also needs to be better than his 6.34 ERA.
Then, Patrick Sandoval is also looming for the Red Sox. Going into 2025, the Red Sox signed him to a two-year deal, largely to rehab from Tommy John surgery. He has yet to pitch for Boston, but is nearing his return.
After that, the Red Sox might need to get creative. Their top-rated pitching prospect in Triple-A is Tyler Ubertstine. Best case scenario, Connelly Early is right, and the entire injury scare was out of an abundance of caution.
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