When Boston Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow made some signings and trades over the offseason, it mostly centered on one position. Pitching, mainly their starting pitching.
Breslow waited and waited for a decision on third baseman Alex Bregman. In January, his decision came, and he signed with the Chicago Cubs. After that was announced, that left Breslow to quickly pivot in free agency.
Instead of pivoting to an infielder, mainly a third baseman, Breslow pivoted to a starting pitcher. Boston signed Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Ranger Suárez to an eye-opening five-year deal for $130 million. While that signing didn’t address the opening at third base, it did put more pressure on some young Red Sox arms going into spring training.
When camp opened last month in Ft. Myers, Fla., a lot of the talk surrounded who was going to be the fifth starter in what was all of a sudden a deep rotation. On Wednesday, manager Alex Cora commented on one of his pitchers competing for a spot in the rotation and didn’t beat around the bush about a young left-hander.
Boston Red Sox Manager Has Eye-Opening Take on Payton Tolle
Last September, Payton Tolle came up and made some starts for the Red Sox. The hard-throwing southpaw opened some eyes and is in the mix for potentially landing the No. 5 spot to begin the season. On Wednesday, against the New York Yankees in three innings, the 23-year-old struck out seven batters on 44 pitches. He collected one of his seven punchouts on a 100.4 M.P.H. fastball.
However, that has made a big difference early in spring training, as Tolle is adding secondary pitches. It’s easy to try and blow hitters away in the minors, but that’s not going to happen in the majors. This spring, he’s throwing his curveball for strikes, and he has developed a cutter. Cora didn’t beat around the bush after his performance against New York and his ability to throw secondary pitches for strikes.
“Much better than the last one,” Cora said. “The fastball plays. We know that. Velo was up, too. He threw strikes. Secondary pitches were good. If we can do that over and over and over and over again, then we’ve got a really good pitcher.”
Now, it should be noted that he was not facing many MLB hitters in the 4-0 loss. The Yankees have some stars at the World Baseball Classic and others who didn’t make the trip from Tampa Bay. Still, it was a promising outing for Tolle.
Boston Red Sox No. 5 Starter Battle
It remains to be seen who ends up as Boston’s No. 5 starter. Johan Oviedo was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates over the winter. He was seen as someone who could win that spot out of spring training. Expect Tolle and Connelly Early to have something to say about that before Opening Day.
You can see why teams that were in trade discussions with the Red Sox over the offseason were asking about Tolle. There is a strong upside there. He’s making it a stronger upside with his secondary pitches. If he’s able to throw those for strikes, then he can be a game-changer for Cora in 2026. Tolle could make that decision as to who the fifth starter will be that much more difficult.
Red Sox Manager Alex Cora Sends Loud & Clear Message About Young Rising Pitcher