Red Sox Sending Early, Tolle to Triple-A Worcester to Start 2025 Season

Payton Tolle went from High-A Greenville to a playoff appearance at Yankee Stadium in a single professional season. Boston is rewarding that ascent by sending him back to the minors.

The Red Sox plan to option both Tolle and Connelly Early to Triple-A Worcester to begin the 2026 season, rather than carrying either pitcher in the big-league bullpen. The decision blends development logic with roster math: Early needs just 35 days in the minors this season for Boston to secure an extra year of team control, while Tolle's threshold sits at 46 days.

"The organization feels that both, despite flashes of brilliance in the big leagues down the stretch, could use more minor league seasoning, too," Chris Cotillo of MassLive wrote. "Tolle has just one professional season and three Triple-A starts under his belt while Early, despite having been drafted a year earlier, pitched just 28 2/3 innings for Worcester before being called up. That factor, plus the service time considerations at play, make it clear that the preferred path is both pitching out of the WooSox rotation once late March rolls around."

The numbers from Tolle's MLB debut explain why more seasoning makes sense. He allowed 12 runs, 11 earned, over 16 1/3 innings for Boston, surrendering five home runs and issuing eight walks. His fastball averaged 96.7 mph and touched triple digits, but his slider and changeup were at times non-competitive against big-league hitters. Those secondary pitches have been his focus this offseason.

Tolle knows exactly what the next chapter requires. "I think for a while, the goal was to be a big leaguer," he said. "Now, it's well, 'We want to stay a big leaguer' until a few years down the line where it's like, 'Well, I want to be known as one of the best big leaguers.' So it's just a constant mindset of, 'What's the next step? How can I be better and how can I stay hungry?'"

The rotation picture in Boston makes the Worcester assignment close to inevitable regardless of service time. Johan Oviedo holds the inside track on the No. 5 spot behind Garrett Crochet, Ranger Suárez, Sonny Gray, and Brayan Bello, according to Cotillo. Suárez alone reshaped the depth chart after signing a five-year, $130 million deal this offseason. Tolle and Early will compete in spring camp alongside Kutter Crawford, Patrick Sandoval, and Kyle Harrison, but that group is fighting primarily for depth insurance rather than a guaranteed Opening Day slot.

The Worcester rotation, then, becomes the most likely stage for both pitchers to build the innings and consistency that could earn a Boston call-up later in 2026. For Tolle especially, it is less a demotion than a continuation of the same rapid climb that brought him from Single-A to a postseason mound in one calendar year.