Connelly Early burst into the Red Sox rotation with a 2.33 ERA over his first 19 1/3 innings in the majors last September, cementing his status as a key part of Boston’s future. Bolstering that future power in the form of a contract extension, however, doesn’t appear to be in the team’s plans, as MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith and Chris Cotillo write that the Sox have yet to meet with Early’s reps at Excel Sports Management about a long-term deal.
Part of the reason may have to do with the agency’s early selection, as Excel’s clients rarely pursue long-term extensions in general, and are never that early in their big league careers. Using MLBTR’s Contract Tracker as a reference, most of Excel’s extensions over the past two decades have been short-term deals involving two or three years or a player’s arbitration, without extending his team’s control. A front-end Excel client Freddie Freeman signed an eight-year, $135MM extension with the Braves back in February 2014, and Raleigh signed his six-year, $105MM extension with the Mariners just under a year ago, but Freeman and Raleigh each had more than three years of MLB service at the time of those deals.
In the beginning, by contrast, he only has 20 official days on his service clock. Early and fellow southpaw Payton Tolle (31 days) each put in enough time in their first 2025 seasons that, as Smith and Cotillo note, the Red Sox could still get an extra year of team control over the duo if they were held in the minors for some time in 2026 – the first 35 days, and Tolle’s 45 days.
Such considerations could result in either Early or Tolle making Boston’s Opening Day schedule, but an extension would obviously overwrite things. Ever since Craig Breslow became the team’s baseball executive, the Red Sox have been shut down Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbellagain Ceddanne Rafaela to long-term extensions where all three of those players have a handful of MLB games under their belts.
They didn’t initially have the same status as that team’s star prospect, but a fifth-round pick from Boston’s 2023 draft class moved up to Double-A before the 2024 season ended. He really put himself on the radar with a 2.60 ERA, 31.9% strikeout rate, and 9.7% walk rate across 100 1/3 minor league innings (71 2/3 in Double-A, 28 2/3 in Triple-A) in 2025, leading to his late-season call-up.
If it weren’t for the precedent of these other extensions for Anthony and company, there probably wouldn’t be any discussion about Early’s contract because he’s so new to the big league scene. The Red Sox may also want more time to evaluate what they really have in Early, and if his promising development on the farm can translate to a good career in the majors.
Guard Suarez again Sonny Gray it was a new thing this winter, and they will join Garrett Crochet again Brian Bello as locks within the Sox pitching staff. Johan Oviedo Another new face was acquired in a trade with the Pirates this winter, so he may be in the running for the fifth starting job even though Early and others are still in contention. The most popular scenario is that of Early, Tolle, and (in the works of regeneration) Patrick Sandoval again Cutter Crawford start the season in Triple-A, serving as rotation depth.
