Payton Tolle thought it was AI.

The Red Sox rookie left-hander couldn’t believe it when his wife, Devin, showed him the text message from a friend, relaying the trade of Connelly Early, his closest friend on the team, to the Washington Nationals late Saturday night.

“I was like, ‘Call her, because we got to tell her that it’s AI,’” Tolle said with his trademark chuckle. “I didn’t think it was real for a while.”

When Tolle realized the tweet came from ESPN insider Jeff Passan, he was forced to accept that for the first time since their Double-A Portland days, his and Early’s roads were diverging, and they would no longer be able to travel together.

“I think we got to be able to, like, walk through those parts,” Tolle said. “We both were in Portland together, and then getting to Triple-A at very similar times, and then being here at similar times. It’s like, first spring training, we got to go through that. So like, we had moments where we could bounce off of each other, which I think was big for us.

“So it helped out along the way, but now you got to be a little bird and go flap your wings.”

Tolle’s words were further emphasized by the fact that he spoke in front of one full locker, his own, and the bare one beside it, emptied out by Early that morning.

“There’s a lot of guys in there that are very close with Connolly, and he’s been a huge part of this,” said interim manager Chad Tracy. “(Tolle) was one of the first ones here. I checked on him, too. Like obviously, Connelly’s close to everybody, but those two guys are buddies.”

The Red Sox selected Early in the fifth round of the 2023 draft, and Tolle in the second round the following year. Tolle debuted Aug. 29, 2025, and Early debuted on Sept. 9. They clinched their first postseason berth together, and mourned the team’s first-round exit together.

Tracy has a strong bond with both pitchers, having managed them in Triple-A and the majors. He was the one who got to deliver the happy news when it came time for their respective debuts. And Early got to return the favor in a way, as he started Tracy’s first game as big-league manager in April.

So, Tolle and Tracy were two of the first phone calls Early received Saturday night.

“I called him pretty immediately after (Craig Breslow informed him of the trade),” Tracy said. “He’s a smart kid. Not only a really good pitcher. He gets it. We always say he gets it. He knows the business side of this thing. He knows that he’s going to an organization that wanted him … But he also is going to miss people here. I just expressed to him what I think of him, not just as a pitcher, but as a person. How much we’re going to miss him.

“And then when he came in today, I just gave him a huge hug, and told him the same thing, ‘We’re gonna miss you,’ and we’re gonna be rooting hard for him.”