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Red Sox Reveal Winner Of Johan Oviedo, Connelly Early Rotation Battle originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Boston Red Sox made significant upgrades to the starting rotation this offseason, but one spot in the rotation was up for grabs.
The Red Sox had their starter for the series finale against the Cincinnati Reds listed as "TBD." However, according to Rob Bradford, Connelly Early will start the game, beating out Johan Oviedo for the final spot in the rotation, at least for now.
The Red Sox traded for Sonny Gray and signed Ranger Suarez this offseason. The two were locks to join Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello in the rotation. However, trade acquisition Oviedo had to earn his spot. He was up against Early and Payton Tolle for the final spot.
Tolle, the Red Sox's No. 1 prospect on MLB Pipeline, seemingly fell behind in the competition, but Early, the Red Sox's No. 3 prospect, made things difficult for Oviedo. Early posted a 1.59 ERA in spring training. He struck out 16 batters in 17 innings of work.
Oviedo had a 4.91 ERA in 14 2/3 innings of work. Only 60% of his pitches were strikes, compared to 64% from Early. However, Early still has to prove he can keep the job. According to MassLive's Chris Cotillo, the Red Sox will "re-assess" at some point.
"Connelly Early will start Sunday in Cincinnati," Cotillo wrote on X on Tuesday. "Johan Oviedo is in the bullpen, likely as a piggyback option. Red Sox will re-assess after a couple turns through the rotation."
Early was already going to make the opening day roster thanks to the Red Sox's need for length options early in the year. Suarez and Bello are not fully built up thanks to the World Baseball Classic. However, Early will get a chance to secure a rotation spot now. He had a 2.33 ERA in four regular-season starts last year. He also started Game 3 of the Red Sox's lone postseason series, allowing three earned runs in 3 2/3 innings of work and striking out six batters.
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