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.
The 24-year-old left a positive impression heading into the offseason.
Early threw three scoreless innings with only one hit, no walks and one strikeout on 34 pitches. His 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.
“Obviously, he has spent some time down, so I'm just excited to get him back out there,” manager Blake Butera said on Friday. “I'm not going to probably look too much into what he does results-wise, but the fact that he's going to go into the offseason feeling healthy is important.”
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.
Early could project as the Nationals’ No. 2 starter next season behind Cade Cavalli. At the time of the trade, he had gone 7-5 with a 3.44 ERA in 17 starts with the Red Sox this season. Early was selected in the fifth round of the 2023 Draft by Boston out of the University of Virginia and debuted last September.