Connelly Early Last September, he posted a 2.33 ERA in his first 19 1/3 major league innings, earning a spot in the Red Sox rotation and enhancing his status as a key player in Boston’s pitching future. But cementing his future potential in the form of a contract extension doesn’t appear to be in the team’s plans yet. Christopher Smith and Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com wrote that the Sox have not yet discussed a long-term deal with Early’s reps at Excel Sports Management.
One reason may have to do with Early’s choice of agency. That’s because Excel clients typically don’t seek long-term extensions, and never so early in their big league careers. For reference, using MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, most of Excel’s extensions over the past 20 years have been short-term contracts that do not extend control of the team and only cover two to three years or a player’s arbitration period. Older Excel client freddy freeman In February 2014, he signed an 8-year, $135 million contract extension with the Braves. carl rowley Although they signed a six-year, $105 million contract extension with the Mariners just over a year ago, Freeman and Rowley each had more than three years of MLB service at the time of their signings.
In contrast, Early’s working days officially last only 20 days. Early and fellow left-handers Peyton Tolle (31 days) each failed to log enough minutes in their debut seasons in 2025, so as Smith and Cotillo pointed out, the Red Sox could gain another year of team control over the duo if they stay in the minor leagues for some period of time in 2026 (35 days initially, 45 days for Tolle).
These considerations may factor into whether Early or Tolle are on Boston’s Opening Day roster, but an extension would obviously override everything. The Red Sox have been shut out since Craig Breslow became the team’s chief baseball officer. Roman Anthony, Christian Campbelland Sedan Raffaella This led to lengthy extensions when all three players only had a few MLB games under their belts.
Early didn’t have the same star prospect status as that group, but the fifth-round pick in Boston’s 2023 draft class advanced to Double-A before the end of the 2024 season. He garnered attention for his 2.60 ERA, 31.9% strikeout rate and 9.7% walk rate in 100 1/3 minor league innings in 2025 (71 2/3 in Double-A, 28 2/3 in Triple-A), earning him a late-season call-up.
If it weren’t for Anthony and the company’s precedent of other early career extensions, there might never have been discussions about signing Early, given that he was still too green on the big league scene. The Red Sox may also want some more time to evaluate what they actually have in Early and whether his promising development on the farm can truly lead to a good career in the major leagues.
ranger suarez and sony gray There are new acquisitions this winter, and they will be joining. garrett crochet and Brayan Bello Like a lock on the Sox pitching staff. Johan Oviedo He’s another new face acquired in a trade with the Pirates this winter, so he could have the upper hand for the fifth starting spot, even though Early and others are still competing. The most likely scenarios are Early, Tolle, and (when assigned to a rehabilitation facility). patrick sandoval and cutter crawford He begins the season in Triple-A and serves as rotation depth.
