Red Sox give rotation spot to Early following impressive spring

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- It came down to the last day of camp, but the race for the fifth spot in the Red Sox's starting rotation has been decided.

Between new acquisition Johan Oviedo and left-handed youngsters in Payton Tolle and Connelly Early, it was Early who was given the nod by manager Alex Cora to occupy the final spot in the rotation. The 23-year-old will start the third game of the regular season in Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon.

When asked what Cora saw this spring from Early -- ranked the No. 3 prospect in Boston's system and No. 56 in baseball by MLB Pipeline -- Cora harkened back to Early’s polarizing game in the playoffs last year.

“The same thing to give me confidence to pitch him in Yankee Stadium in the Wild Card Series,” Cora said. “Stuff-wise, he’s really good. I think he’s up to the challenge. He slows down the moments. He’s getting better.”

In five games (four starts) and 17 innings this spring, the fifth-round pick from the 2023 Draft struck out 16 and held a 1.59 ERA. He allowed just three earned runs in Grapefruit League action, posting a 0.94 WHIP.

Early started four games for the Sox last season, catching the eye of all who watched the young lefty work. He surrendered just five earned runs across 19 1/3 innings, striking out 29 batters along the way.

Early's playoff appearance in Boston’s Game 3 loss at Yankee Stadium last season showed his poise; he became the fifth pitcher in MLB history to make a postseason start within his first five Major League appearances.

Cora said Oviedo will come out of the bullpen to start the year.

“Where we’re at rotation-wise right now, it makes sense to have him most likely piggyback somebody the first two times around, and then we’ll reassess the situation,” Cora said.

Cora said the team plans to have Oviedo work Monday in Houston in relief of Ranger Suarez, who is still building up after his time leading Venezuela to the World Baseball Classic title.

“I think it makes sense to have [Oviedo] there, and whenever we deploy him, we deploy him,” Cora said. “We’re kind of targeting Monday ... but you never know what can happen before.”

Of the decision to pick Early over Tolle, Cora said it didn’t make sense to have both lefties with the team to start the season.

“That’s the way we saw it,” Cora said. “We’re here to win a lot of games in April, but we’re here to win a lot of games over 162. It doesn't make sense roster-wise to carry both of them. Just felt like Early earned that spot. Tolle did everything that we asked him to do. There’s still some development, and he’ll do that.

"We added some pitches throughout camp and the offseason, and he’s going to keep improving down there. At one point, without making promises, I believe he’s going to contribute at this level, but it’s not right now."

As expected, given the names and pedigree of the arms in Boston's starting rotation, Cora said he has confidence in the group.

“The years I’ve been here and we make it to the playoffs, it’s because the rotation is stable,” Cora said.

With Tolle, Tyler Samaniego, Zack Kelly, Tommy Kahnle, and Tyler Uberstine all optioned to the Minors on Monday, Rule 5 Draft Pick Ryan Watson has made the team, along with lefty Jovani Morán.

Cora on Tuesday said Danny Coulombe will stay back in Fort Myers and pitch Wednesday, but he plans to join the team shortly thereafter.

“If everything goes well, he’ll join us in Cincinnati," Cora said.

While it’s been a different camp for most teams due to the World Baseball Classic, especially for the Red Sox, Cora said it’s overall been a successful camp.

“I think we accomplished a lot of good things here,” Cora said. “Obviously, it was a lot different than previous ones, but we’re in a good spot. We have a good baseball team. We’re going to be athletic, we’re going to hit homers, we’re going to play good defense.

"We’ll see how the bullpen pans out. I think the guys that we have here, they’re really good. Now that we went this route, there are some guys in Triple-A that, whenever their name gets called, are going to keep this intact, in a sense. That was my biggest fear coming into camp and throughout camp: Do we have enough that if somebody gets banged up here, [do we] have quality arms in Triple-A? We do.”