Given their stacked starting rotation, it wasn’t a shock when the Boston Red Sox recently optioned pitching prospect Payton Tolle to Triple-A Worcester.
Both Tolle and fellow left-handed pitching prospect Connelly Early made their big-league debuts last summer and made appearances during the Red Sox’s AL Wild Card series against the New York Yankees as well.
The duo impressed over spring training, with Tolle allowing three earned runs with one walk and 13 strikeouts over 10 2/3 innings.
“I thought (I) competed. I thought (I) did what (I) could do,” the 2024 second-round pick said, according to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. “I think I made it a hard decision for them. When it comes down to it, I’ve got stuff I can work on. There’s a lot of things I can do to make myself a complete Major League Baseball pitcher. It’s what they thought was best for me and I think it’s gonna be a good opportunity for me, too, to come down here and work on what I can. I’ve got a few things with the off-speed pitches.”
Though Tolle understood the team’s decision, he was still disappointed.
“It does sting, because you want to play at the highest level all the time. But at the same time, it’s what’s going to be beneficial for me. I’m just excited to get going on the year and start pitching against other hitters in games that actually mean things again,” he said, per Cotillo. “Our rotation is really freaking good. The pitchers we’ve got up are really freaking good.”
Early not only earned a spot on Boston’s Opening Day roster but will start for the Red Sox on Sunday against the Cincinnati Reds.
“(Early) came in like, ‘I’m gonna miss you,’ Tolle said of his friend’s reaction to the roster moves. “I was like, ‘You’re gonna see me in a little bit, alright?’ … You can’t deny what he did. He kicked butt (in spring training) and he got rewarded for it. I’m really excited for him.”
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