The Boston Red Sox and Washington Nationals have kicked off the MLB trade deadline season with the first big-league trade of the cycle. Jeff Passan reported late Saturday night that Boston was trading 24-year-old starter Connelly Early to Washington for INF Curtis Mead. Let’s take a look at what each side is getting in return.
Early is a starting pitcher who has shown some real promise at the MLB level. He has made 34 starts and has just a 3.24 ERA in the majors. He has thrown 91.2 innings this season and has struck out 93 hitters. Early is currently on the 15-day IL with Left Elbow Inflammation. He was placed on the injured list on July 1st.
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This move makes a ton of sense for the Nationals. They get a young and controllable arm for seemingly very cheap. They have Early under team control through the 2028 MLB season.
The Red Sox are getting Mead, a promising player in his own right, but the feeling after a trade is never good when the MLB world is responding with “that’s it?”.
Mead is in the midst of a breakout season in the MLB. He has hit 17 home runs in 86 games for Washington. He has solid strikeout numbers and has the tag of being one of MLB’s top prospects just a few years ago.
He was originally a Philadelphia Phillies prospect before being traded for Cristopher Sanchez, who, at the time, was a DFA candidate barely sticking onto the 40-man roster.
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Mead has spent time in the majors prior to this season, and it wasn’t nearly as successful as what he’s doing now. He spent time with the Tampa Bay Rays and the Chicago White Sox since the 2023 MLB season.
Entering 2026, he had just five home runs to his name. His career WAR was a -0.1 before being boosted with a 2.0 through the early stages of this season.
Boston will need this Mead breakout to be a real thing if they want this trade to make any sense. As of right now, it looks like the Nationals won this trade by a wide margin.
The post Red Sox Trade Connelly Early To Nationals For Curtis Mead appeared first on Stadium Rant.
