WASHINGTON – Two months exactly after he was acquired from the Red Sox, left-hander Connelly Early made his anticipated debut with the Nationals on Saturday afternoon.
Early returned from left elbow inflammation, for which he had been sidelined since July 1, in the Nats' 7-1 loss to the Mets in the penultimate game of the season at Nationals Park.
“I feel like the mound’s a place of peace for me,” said Early. “I feel good out there. I feel confident. I don’t really show it, but I have a bunch of joy when I’m out there pitching. So it was good to be back out there.”
Early threw three scoreless innings with only one hit, no walks and one strikeout on 34 pitches.
“It was awesome to see him on the mound, first and foremost,” said manager Blake Butera. “... I thought he looked really good. He attacked hitters, he wasn’t afraid, [he] threw a ton of strikes. I was happy with the performance.”
Early's efficiency picked up frame to frame. He threw 16 pitches in the first inning (10 strikes), 10 in the second inning (six strikes) and only eight in the third inning (five strikes).
Working with catcher Keibert Ruiz, Early threw 10 fastballs, 10 sinkers, five sweepers, five changeups, three curveballs and one slider. His four-seamer maxed out at 95.1 mph and averaged 93.8 mph, just shy of his season average 94 mph.
“I was trying to make one pitch at a time,” said Early. “It ended up probably my cleanest three innings of the season.”
Early began pitching in rehab starts on Sept. 15 with Triple-A Rochester. He made two appearances, but his third scheduled start was rained out. Early was built up to around 45 pitches.
“I think we all gain something [from Early making one start],” said Butera. “We get to see him pitch for us in the Nationals uniform -- something we’ve all been waiting on for a long time, of course. For him, the same thing -- getting a chance to finally pitch up here for us and being able to check the box of being healthy going into the offseason.”
At the time of the trade, Early had gone 7-5 with a 3.44 ERA in 17 starts with the Red Sox this season. He was selected in the fifth round of the 2023 Draft by Boston out of the University of Virginia and debuted last September.
The Nationals are enthusiastic to have Early in their starting rotation in 2027. He could project as their No. 2 starter next season behind Cade Cavalli.
“Given what he’s done before coming over here, he’s going to be a huge, huge part of this,” said Butera. “We’re really excited about what he’s going to bring to us.”
Early noted the camaraderie he has felt since being traded to the Nationals, even going back and forth between the Minor and Major League levels rehabbing.
“I’m super excited [for next season’s team],” said Early. “Obviously, we made some really big jumps this year. The offense has been insanely good and the pitching has been working their [butt] off. We haven’t taken anything lightly. Obviously [we] haven’t had the best year, and we hope to go out there and win a lot more games next year.”