Paul Toboni Reveals When Connelly Early Is Going to Make His Nationals Debut
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There was a lot of mystery surrounding left-handed pitcher Connelly Early about if or when he would be making his Washington Nationals debut this season.
When he was acquired in a trade from the Boston Red Sox back on July 26, they knew he was trying to work his way back from elbow inflammation that landed him on the injured list 25 days prior. But they had confidence he would pitch again in 2026, especially because he was already throwing and getting ready to go on a rehab assignment.
Unfortunately, he suffered a setback. Early felt some forearm tightness, which opened up a whole bunch of new negative scenarios that might have resulted in the talented lefty not pitching again until at least 2028. Since then, the Nationals eased him back into a throwing progression before they sent him out on a rehab assignment. Now, after he's thrown in some live-game settings, Washington is prepping for him to make his team debut before the end of the year.
Connelly Early Expcted to Debut for Nationals on Sept. 26
Per NatsTalk, president of baseball operations Paul Toboni went on Junks Radio and said that Early will pitch on Saturday, Sept. 26.
It's not clear what his workload is going to look like, but that is a massive development after there were serious question marks about if he would get back on the major league mound this year. Sept. 26 is also the penultimate game this season, and it's a high-profile home matchup against the New York Mets.
With that date circled, it will be interesting to see how the Nationals handle things with Early in the meantime. He was supposed to make a rehab start for Double-A Harrisburg this past Sunday. But because that game got rained out, Washington sent him up to Triple-A Rochester for a start on Tuesday.
During that outing, the lefty had some struggles. He threw 35 pitches, which seemed to be his limit. That resulted in one inning of work where he gave up three earned runs on two hits with two walks. However, on the positive side of things, Early recorded two K's and was able to go through his entire arsenal of six pitches.
Rochester's season comes to a close on Sept. 20, which is when Early could pitch again since that would be five days after he threw on Tuesday. That would then give him six days of rest before he's expected to start on Sept. 26. That might be how the Nationals decide to operate so they can make sure their prized left-hander is ready for his team debut at the big league level.
No matter what happens regarding Early down on the farm, his situation continues to be something to monitor. And with Toboni now sharing a specific date when they expect Early to return, fans should have that day circled.
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Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai