Red Sox And Nationals Trade Connelly Early and Curtis Mead in 1-for-1 Deal

The Boston Red Sox and Washington Nationals completed a trade late Saturday night as left-handed pitcher Connelly Early was traded for infielder Curtis Mead. The trade helps fill both teams' holes as Early will slot into a Washington rotation in need of help while Mead's bat will slot into the Boston lineup nicely. The trade is a one-for-one deal with no other parts involved. 

Mead is coming off of a strong first half with Washington, where he put up a stat line of .256/.351/.505 with 17 doubles, one triple, 17 home runs, and 48 RBIs. A right-handed hitter, Mead will slot in nicely behind Wilyer Abreu and Willson Contreras while lengthening the lineup. This season, Mead has showcased an ability to be patient at the plate and not chase, with his whiff rate a low 17.9%, showing an ability to put the ball in play often while also walking to get on base. Mead follows the mold of hitters that Breslow is interested in, pulling the ball 47% of the time. He is also near the top of leaderboards for Pull Air percentage, sitting at 22.8%. Should that continue with his time in Boston, Mead should be able to take full advantage of the Green Monster in left field. 

Mead doesn’t come without some issues. The two biggest being his low exit velocity and his poor defense. While Mead makes contact often, his average exit velocity is sitting at just 88.1 mph. Despite that, he has been able to barrel the baseball up at an 11.1% rate. The infielder seems like a perfect candidate for Boston’s bat speed program during the offseason. The other major issue is his defensive ability. As of the trade, his Fielding Run Value sits at a negative eight, placing him in the fourth percentile of major league baseball. Mead plays first base, second base, and third base, but has mostly played third base with Washington. In 47 appearances at the hot corner, he’s made four errors and only turned five double plays. His range is some of the worst in baseball this season, sitting at a negative nine. 

Mead has broken out this season after hitting just .233/.299/.321 across 90 games last season with Tampa Bay and the Chicago White Sox. For Mead, the Red Sox get a middle-of-the-lineup bat who is only 25 years old and under contract through the 2030 season for cheap money. It doesn’t come without a cost, as Early was a fast riser through the system and showed he could pitch at the major league level. 

The Red Sox will need to decide how their infield will now align and whether Caleb Durbin will remain at third base and Mead will slot into second base or if the two will swap positions in the lineup. 

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