The Boston Red Sox have a lot of decisions that they need to make during Spring Training before the 2026 campaign gets underway. Manager Alex Cora has to sift through a very deep group of players that could have up to 35 guys realistically competing for a spot on the team’s 26-man roster.
One of the more loaded positions on the roster for Boston is at starting pitcher, where the No. 5 spot in the rotation appears to be very much up for grabs. Two guys in the running for this job are top prospects Payton Tolle and Connelly Early, but a unique wrinkle could actually prevent either of these guys from making the Opening Day roster.
Service Time Rules Could Force Red Sox to Make Payton Tolle, Connelly Early Decision
Boston saw several of its top prospects make their way to the majors in 2025, and both Tolle and Early were part of that group. Tolle posted a 6.06 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 16.1 innings of work, while Early made four starts and recorded a sparkling 2.33 ERA and 29 strikeouts, but he is most well-known for getting the start in Boston’s season-ending loss to the New York Yankees in Game 3 of its wild-card playoff series.
While their initial forays into the majors played out very differently, both Tolle and Early appear to be on track to be important pieces of the Red Sox’s starting rotation for years to come. In fact, one or both of them could make the Opening Day roster, as they both have already gotten their first taste of the majors and appear to be in the thick of the hunt for a spot on the team.
The problem is that Tolle and Early may have something working against them that isn’t an issue for some of the other pitchers they are competing against: service time. If the Red Sox wanted, they could manipulate Tolle and Early’s service time to make it so that both of these guys would hit free agency a year later than initially expected.
“If the pitchers spend a certain, cumulative amount of time in the minors at any point this year — 35 days for Early and 46 for Tolle — they would hit free agency a year later than expected (after 2032, not 2031),” Chris Cotillo detailed for MassLive. “Early can be in the majors for all but five weeks for the Red Sox to gain control of his age-29 season. Tolle, who is seven months younger, would need to spend 7-½ weeks in Triple-A for that to be the case.”
What Should the Red Sox Do with Payton Tolle, Connelly Early?
GettyBoston Red Sox pitcher Connelly Early
From a financial perspective, starting Tolle and Early in the minors to begin the year makes sense. However, from a roster-building perspective, it could also make things easier on Cora, as Boston has guys like Johan Oviedo, Kutter Crawford, and Patrick Sandoval who are also competing for spots in the starting rotation.
Injuries are going to take place throughout the season, meaning that the door will almost certainly be open for both of these guys to return to the majors at some point in 2026, even if they begin the year in the minors. If the Sox didn’t have the sort of pitching depth they currently have, this wouldn’t make much sense, but given the unique construction of their roster, this could help make life a little bit easier for Cora when building out his initial 26-man group.
Red Sox Have Strategic Reason to Keep Payton Tolle & Connelly Early Off Opening Day Roster