The Boston Red Sox traded left-handed starting pitcher Connelly Early to the Washington Nationals for third baseman Curtis Mead on Saturday night, a straight one-for-one swap of young major-leaguers with no prospects or cash involved. ESPN’s Jeff Passan broke the story.
Boston has been chasing a third baseman the way a fat man chases the ice cream truck — desperately, repeatedly, and with nothing to show for it but sweat. They had an All-Star, signed another All-Star, the first one got mad and got traded, the second one walked in free agency, and the replacement they acquired has hit .233. Now they’ve shipped out a live arm for another shot at the hot corner.
Mead, 25, is having the kind of season that makes a front office look smart. In 86 games he’s batting .256 with a .352 on-base percentage, 17 home runs, 48 RBIs, and an .856 OPS — all career bests by a wide margin. He’d previously bounced through the Rays and White Sox organizations without sticking, hitting .245 with a .710 OPS for his career before this year. The Nationals acquired him from Chicago last offseason under president of baseball operations Paul Toboni, a former Red Sox executive, and watched him shed the bust label over four months. Now they’ve flipped him.
Early, 24, went 7-5 with a 3.44 ERA across 17 starts in his rookie season, striking out 94 in 91.2 innings. He hasn’t pitched since June 30 — landed on the injured list July 1 with left elbow inflammation — but is expected back in August. His FIP sat at 4.61, a number the analytics crowd will point to like it’s a smoking gun, but the kid misses bats and throws strikes. He debuted last September and started Game 3 of the Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium. Not too shabby for a fifth-round pick out of UVA who started his college career at West Point.
The Red Sox felt comfortable dealing from their rotation depth because lefty Jake Bennett has emerged with a 6-3 record and 2.58 ERA, joining Ranger Suarez, Payton Tolle, and injured ace Garrett Crochet in the pipeline. Early is under team control through 2032; Mead through 2030.
