The Red Sox got some bad news when Connelly Early left Tuesday’s start against the Nationals after just four innings. But the full diagnosis could have been a lot worse.
Early has been placed on the injured list with posterior elbow inflammation, according to Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald. That’s the kind of phrase that makes any team hold its breath, but the results came back about as clean as the Sox could have hoped for given the circumstances.
Interim manager Chad Tracy was already cautiously optimistic right after the game, but he wanted to wait for the imaging before saying anything definitive.
“We’ll see what the images show,” Tracy told MLB.com’s Ian Browne. “Obviously we’re very hopeful that the images give us good results, but, still, something happened. So, fingers crossed. But it’s not unreasonable to think that maybe he misses one [start].”
The fact that it’s inflammation rather than structural damage is what the Red Sox were banking on. Any elbow issue for a pitcher sends up red flags immediately, but “just” inflammation means Early should be back before too long.
Early himself sounded relieved but still frustrated about the timing.
“I’m personally not too concerned as of right now,” Early said. “We’ll see tomorrow with imaging. Just trying to kind of figure out what to do from there. It’s tough. I thought I was throwing the ball really well. I felt really good going into the game, so just a little unfortunate thing that happened there.”
The lefty had been putting together a solid season before the injury. Through his first 17 starts in 2026, Early posted a 3.44 ERA with 93 strikeouts and 34 walks. Those are numbers that make him a valuable piece of a rotation that’s still sorting itself out.
The Red Sox will take it slow with him. Let the inflammation settle, get him back on the mound, and hope he picks up right where he left off. For now, the team is just relieved the news wasn’t worse.
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