Connelly Early Placed On Injured List, Red Sox Make Multiple Moves

[Nick John]

The Boston Red Sox made multiple roster moves pertaining to their pitching staff following the conclusion of an 8-1 loss to the Washington Nationals. The major news is the loss of Connelly Early. The left-hander exited Tuesday night’s start after just four innings and 61 pitches with left elbow discomfort.

While Early himself didn’t seem too worried about the injury, the team sent him for imaging Wednesday morning just to be certain. The result led to Early being placed on the 15-day Injured List with left elbow inflammation.

To fill his spot on the roster, the Red Sox activated left-handed pitcher Jovani Morán from the injured list and added him to the active roster. The left-hander was a trusted arm in the Sox bullpen prior to his injury, appearing in 21 games and tossing 33 innings with a 3.00 ERA. He also struck out 38 batters. Morán made two rehab appearances last week with Worcester and looked ready to return to Boston after tossing three scoreless innings.

The other change in the pitching staff pertains to Tommy Kahnle. The 36-year-old reliever was designated for assignment after a tough stint in the bullpen. Kahnle signed a minor-league deal with Boston near the end of spring training and pitched well there, leading to the team adding him to the active roster following the activation of his opt out clause. Since then, the right-hander made eight appearances in Boston and pitched nine innings while allowing eight runs on 12 hits and six walks.

To replace Kahnle on the active roster, the Red Sox recalled Alec Gamboa. This will be Gamboa’s third stint with the team, having pitched twice for them previously. Overall, he’s tossed 1 2/3 innings out of the bullpen and struck out three. He’s spent most of the season with Worcester, where he’s tossed 17 2/3 innings out of the bullpen while allowing just two earned runs.

The Red Sox look to close out their homestand with a win today against the Nationals at 1:35pm.

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[moonslav59]

Just what we needed!

I guess he wont be getting the 180 IP he was on pace for.

[Nick John]

5 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Just what we needed!

I guess he wont be getting the 180 IP he was on pace for.

Probably not. Though so long as it doesn't turn into a major injury maybe it works out for Early. He could use some rest after all the innings he's thrown so far this year.

People think Sandoval will take his place in the rotation but I honestly think they'll have Bello start before they give the rotation spot to Sandoval. 

[moonslav59]

Just now, Nick John said:

Probably not. Though so long as it doesn't turn into a major injury maybe it works out for Early. He could use some rest after all the innings he's thrown so far this year.

People think Sandoval will take his place in the rotation but I honestly think they'll have Bello start before they give the rotation spot to Sandoval. 

I seriously doubt the plan was for Early to pitch 180 IP in 2026. I would not be surprised if they planned on giving him a break, at some point. Taking time off now, and then the ASB could have been planned.

I'm not sure who I'd give the Early starts to: Bello or Sandoval. There really are no other options other than using an opener.

I was hoping Sandoval might help the pen. Bello did well as a non starter, but it might mess up his mind by making him a RP'er, now.

[JoeBrady]

1 hour ago, Nick John said:

Probably not. Though so long as it doesn't turn into a major injury maybe it works out for Early. He could use some rest after all the innings he's thrown so far this year.

I had that in the back of my mind.  If you're watching his innings, this is as good a time as any to sit him for two weeks.  And you have two days off between now and the AS break.  It might make some sense to juggle the rotation to give Tolle and/or Bennett a day off.

[Nick John]

2 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

I seriously doubt the plan was for Early to pitch 180 IP in 2026. I would not be surprised if they planned on giving him a break, at some point. Taking time off now, and then the ASB could have been planned.

I'm not sure who I'd give the Early starts to: Bello or Sandoval. There really are no other options other than using an opener.

I was hoping Sandoval might help the pen. Bello did well as a non starter, but it might mess up his mind by making him a RP'er, now.

Definitely doesn't help that Gamboa and Uberstine have been transitioned into bullpen roles at the moment. Would take some time to stretch them out.

Team could also go with a Jack Anderson spot start but he's coming off a rough start on Saturday

[southpaw777]

Boy wouldn’t all the depth arms we had that Breslow traded away come in handy this year?

[moonslav59]

3 hours ago, southpaw777 said:

Boy wouldn’t all the depth arms we had that Breslow traded away come in handy this year?

He added many depth arms, too. While Kahnle, Watson and Oviedo have not helped us, Brez did add depth like Coulombe, Guerrero, Samaniego, Weissert & Slaten,

Would you rather have minor leaguer Perales or Bennett?

Fitts & Clarke for depth or Gray in the rotation, which added depth by knocking almost every SP'er down a notch?

Suarez knocked all but Crochet down one slot on the depth charts, too.

A pitcher out for the year (Priester) or Holobetz & Phillips as a longshot depth piece?

You want Hicks and Sandlin back? You want Dobbins back for Willson?

To me, one of Brez's top focus areas has been pitching depth and farm pitching improvement. He's traded away a ton of pitching, including Sale, Priester, Harrison and Drohan. Some were bound to do well, and they did. More have done squat or are still TBD,

[moonslav59]

MLB has seen way too many pitcher injuries, recently, and many are big named stars.

When you consider the quality of pitching the Sox have had on the IL, it's pretty amazing how well the staff has done, so far- particularly the rotation.

We've lost...

SP'ers:

#1 SP Crochet

#4-5 SP Houck

#5-7 Crawford

#6-8 Sandoval

#6-8 Oviedo

(Not to mention Bello's implosion and demotion and Early's recent move to the IL.)

RP'ers (not bad at all) : Slaten, Moran and others.

[southpaw777]

13 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

He added many depth arms, too. While Kahnle, Watson and Oviedo have not helped us, Brez did add depth like Coulombe, Guerrero, Samaniego, Weissert & Slaten,

Would you rather have minor leaguer Perales or Bennett?

Fitts & Clarke for depth or Gray in the rotation, which added depth by knocking almost every SP'er down a notch?

Suarez knocked all but Crochet down one slot on the depth charts, too.

A pitcher out for the year (Priester) or Holobetz & Phillips as a longshot depth piece?

You want Hicks and Sandlin back? You want Dobbins back for Willson?

To me, one of Brez's top focus areas has been pitching depth and farm pitching improvement. He's traded away a ton of pitching, including Sale, Priester, Harrison and Drohan. Some were bound to do well, and they did. More have done squat or are still TBD,

We could have used what we had. Admit it. He screwed up and left our pitching depth in worse shape. Most of The guys he was counting on had been hurt the last year or two. Houck Sandoval dumb signing) Crawford are all hurt again. I like Bennett, but Bennett/Perales was a parallel move as far as depth arms. I’ll admit I do like some of his pitching moves but once again it’s about timing and replacing what you had. His inexperience shows

[notin]

17 hours ago, southpaw777 said:

Boy wouldn’t all the depth arms we had that Breslow traded away come in handy this year?

Handier than Contreras and Gray?  

[Hugh2]

I really don’t think Kyle Harrison would be doing here what he’s doing in Milwaukee.  The Brewers might be the best at elevating pitchers above their talent.  Also no person can predict who is going to get injured in a year or two.  
 

overall Breslow has done an outstanding job with the pitching.  
 

the offense however couldn’t contrast anymore from the pitching.  It’s been awful, and this year is a clear cut example that you need star power at the helm. They have none of that side of the ball.

[Bellhorn04]

14 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

MLB has seen way too many pitcher injuries, recently, and many are big named stars.

When you consider the quality of pitching the Sox have had on the IL, it's pretty amazing how well the staff has done, so far- particularly the rotation.

We've lost...

SP'ers:

#1 SP Crochet

#4-5 SP Houck

#5-7 Crawford

#6-8 Sandoval

#6-8 Oviedo

(Not to mention Bello's implosion and demotion and Early's recent move to the IL.)

RP'ers (not bad at all) : Slaten, Moran and others.

Slaten has been horrendous and has cost us some games.

[notin]

26 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

I really don’t think Kyle Harrison would be doing here what he’s doing in Milwaukee.  The Brewers might be the best at elevating pitchers above their talent.  Also no person can predict who is going to get injured in a year or two.  
 

overall Breslow has done an outstanding job with the pitching.  
 

the offense however couldn’t contrast anymore from the pitching.  It’s been awful, and this year is a clear cut example that you need star power at the helm. They have none of that side of the ball.

As much as people complain about losing Harrison, how much  better is he than Bennett?   If the Sox had kept Harrison and dealt Perales for Durbin, what’s the net change?

[notin]

16 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Slaten has been horrendous and has cost us some games.

Slaten has been injured and mediocre since his rookie year and probably why thinking every Rule 5 RP is the next Whitlock is a weak way to fortify the bullpen.  While teams occasionally leave some serious talent unprotected, most players are left unprotected for a reason, which is why none of us regret losing Thad Ward any more…

[southpaw777]

1 hour ago, notin said:

Handier than Contreras and Gray?  

Did ALL the pitching depth go to those players? No…we gave the Brewers their starting rotation though… listen, the whole point is the fact that he traded away all of our good pitching depth that every team needs and mostly counted on a bunch of guys that have been injured for the last year or two. 

[Bellhorn04]

4 minutes ago, notin said:

As much as people complain about losing Harrison, how much  better is he than Bennett?   If the Sox had kept Harrison and dealt Perales for Durbin, what’s the net change?

People would not be complaining so much, of course, if we weren't 11 games under .500.

[notin]

34 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

I really don’t think Kyle Harrison would be doing here what he’s doing in Milwaukee.  The Brewers might be the best at elevating pitchers above their talent.  Also no person can predict who is going to get injured in a year or two.  
 

overall Breslow has done an outstanding job with the pitching.  
 

the offense however couldn’t contrast anymore from the pitching.  It’s been awful, and this year is a clear cut example that you need star power at the helm. They have none of that side of the ball.

While fans like star power - often for good reason - it’s very possible to have a good offense without it.  Who is the star power leading the Brewers’ offense, for example? Please don’t say Yelich and his .727 OPS.  Does 22yo Jackson Chourio count? Or their true best hitter this year - Jake Bauers?

Can you imagine if Breslow built the offense around a 22yo and a career bench/platoon bat?

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

46 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

I really don’t think Kyle Harrison would be doing here what he’s doing in Milwaukee.  

Pitching for a last place team instead of a first place team.

[notin]

6 minutes ago, southpaw777 said:

Did ALL the pitching depth go to those players? No…we gave the Brewers their starting rotation though… listen, the whole point is the fact that he traded away all of our good pitching depth that every team needs and mostly counted on a bunch of guys that have been injured for the last year or two. 

The Sox are ok for SP depth. Sandoval is due off the IL soon.  Bello isn’t dead yet.  Oviedo and Crawford might come back at some point.  Harrison is a loss, but Bennett has worked out and it turns out, Durbin might actually be pretty good.  Priester was needlessly traded but hasn’t been a factor tjis year for Milwaukee either.  One extremely positive sign is so far, we have seen almost no games started by openers.  And the few we have seen were not because no starters were available, but rather to get around Bello’s first inning hiccups.

Now our bullpen depth on the other hand…

[drewski6]

15 minutes ago, notin said:

While fans like star power - often for good reason - it’s very possible to have a good offense without it.  Who is the star power leading the Brewers’ offense, for example? Please don’t say Yelich and his .727 OPS.  Does 22yo Jackson Chourio count? Or their true best hitter this year - Jake Bauers?

Can you imagine if Breslow built the offense around a 22yo and a career bench/platoon bat?

wake me up when the brewers win a championship

[notin]

18 minutes ago, southpaw777 said:

Did ALL the pitching depth go to those players? No…we gave the Brewers their starting rotation though… listen, the whole point is the fact that he traded away all of our good pitching depth that every team needs and mostly counted on a bunch of guys that have been injured for the last year or two. 

And we gave the Brewers their starting rotation?  A tad melodramatic.

They do have one pitcher we sent them starting this year, and he isn’t even their best starter.  Priester has 0 IP so far.  And that rotation is anchored by some guy that can throw 105 mph.  Harrison has been terrific and is a likely All Star, but the Brewers have a good all around pitching staff that includes - and this is shocking for July - a relief pitcher that leads the NL in wins…

[notin]

2 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

wake me up when the brewers win a championship

Does that mean you will be dormant until October? 
 

Or does it mean that if the Sox were having the season the Brewers we’re having, you’d still be dissatisfied?

[drewski6]

19 minutes ago, notin said:

Does that mean you will be dormant until October? 
 

Or does it mean that if the Sox were having the season the Brewers we’re having, you’d still be dissatisfied?

It means that I side more the original statement than your rebuttal and Id rather get stars than find reasons why we dont need them.

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, southpaw777 said:

We could have used what we had. Admit it. He screwed up and left our pitching depth in worse shape. Most of The guys he was counting on had been hurt the last year or two. Houck Sandoval dumb signing) Crawford are all hurt again. I like Bennett, but Bennett/Perales was a parallel move as far as depth arms. I’ll admit I do like some of his pitching moves but once again it’s about timing and replacing what you had. His inexperience shows

I'm not admitting to a nonsense claim. A couple guys he traded away, that nobody cried about when it happened, have done well for less than a full season.

Bennett is depth now: Perales is still speculative depth and is not MLB ready.

He swung and missed on a few additions like Oviedo & Sandoval. He counted on them and Crawford to add some depth. He added Suarez and Gray to push those guys down the pecking order. He counted on Crochet and Bello- wow big sin.

The one thing Brez did right was the rotation and its depth. Admit it.

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Slaten has been horrendous and has cost us some games.

Yup. It must be Brez's fault.

He shoulda known.

[southpaw777]

55 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

wake me up when the brewers win a championship

 

52 minutes ago, notin said:

And we gave the Brewers their starting rotation?  A tad melodramatic.

They do have one pitcher we sent them starting this year, and he isn’t even their best starter.  Priester has 0 IP so far.  And that rotation is anchored by some guy that can throw 105 mph.  Harrison has been terrific and is a likely All Star, but the Brewers have a good all around pitching staff that includes - and this is shocking for July - a relief pitcher that leads the NL in wins…

A tad but I’m trying to make my main point. Which is he’s traded away a TON of depth that I certainly at the time, and now, disagree with. priester going down this year just proves how valuable depth is.  I didn’t think they would all be all stars, just bodies that I believed we needed. Pitchers go down all the time. I’m not bashing everything he’s done, but pitching depth is important and if you trade it away get something equal back. Durbin, who they messed up, a replacement IF, and some kid from the Yankees drafted in 2018 isn’t exactly a great return for a couple MLB ready starters and Hamilton, in my very humble opinion.

[Hugh2]

1 hour ago, notin said:

While fans like star power - often for good reason - it’s very possible to have a good offense without it.  Who is the star power leading the Brewers’ offense, for example? Please don’t say Yelich and his .727 OPS.  Does 22yo Jackson Chourio count? Or their true best hitter this year - Jake Bauers?

Can you imagine if Breslow built the offense around a 22yo and a career bench/platoon bat?

If you can find an exception to a norm should you strive for that? Or go with what you know works.  Like you said…..for good reason.  This team needed more

[southpaw777]

18 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

I'm not admitting to a nonsense claim. A couple guys he traded away, that nobody cried about when it happened, have done well for less than a full season.

Bennett is depth now: Perales is still speculative depth and is not MLB ready.

He swung and missed on a few additions like Oviedo & Sandoval. He counted on them and Crawford to add some depth. He added Suarez and Gray to push those guys down the pecking order. He counted on Crochet and Bello- wow big sin.

The one thing Brez did right was the rotation and its depth. Admit it.

I told you I liked the starter for starter trade. He traded away healthy arms to rely on starters with injury histories. Sandoval, Oviedo, and relied on other hurt guys like Houck and Crawford. Dumb.  That’s a stupid plan. Trade away young healthy arms and pay guys who have arm issues.

[Hugh2]

1 hour ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Pitching for a last place team instead of a first place team.

Not the point at all.  Although you’d be correct to say wins and losses is what matters