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Payton Tolle of the Boston Red Sox will surprisingly start the season at Triple-A Worcester.

Just days before Opening Day, the Red Sox delivered a surprising blow to their No. 1 pitching prospect Payton Tolle. Red Sox fans will need to wait before they see Tolle electrify Fenway Park again, as he did in his MLB debut on Aug. 29 last year, when he faced NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes. In a surprise roster move, the Red Sox optioned Tolle to Triple-A Worcester on Monday, just two days before the deadline to finalize MLB Opening Day rosters.

The move was first reported by MassLive Red Sox reporter Chris Cotillo, who also reported the Red Sox sent pitchers Zack Kelly, Tyler Uberstine and Tommy Kahnle to the minor leagues on Monday. The timing makes the decision especially notable, with Boston finalizing its roster just as expectations around Tolle had begun to surge.

With the exception of Uberstine, who has his own unlikely story, all of the demotions caught Red Sox Nation by surprise. But perhaps none more so than Tolle, rated as the No. 1 prospect in the Red Sox organization by MLB Pipeline.

Tolle is also ranked as the No. 19 overall prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline. Baseball America shares the high opinion of Tolle, also placing him at No. 1 in the Red Sox farm system.

Baseball America ranks Tolle at No. 17 in baseball, but the Red Sox clearly feel that he needs further development at the minor league level after skyrocketing from the Single-A all the way to the big leagues in his first professional season last year.

Tolle Expected to Receive Call-Up Soon

Tolle experienced some struggles in his three starts and five relief appearances over the final month of the 2025 season, finishing with a 6.06 ERA and 1.592 WHIP, though he struck out 19 in 16 1/3 innings.

But he appeared to be on track to pitch a full season at the major league level in 2026, as MLB analyst J.P. Hoornstra of The Big Lead reported late Monday.

“Tolle did nearly everything he could to make the Boston Red Sox’s Opening Day roster,” Hoornstra wrote. “The 23-year-old left-hander allowed three runs on eight hits in 10 2/3 spring innings (2.53 ERA), walking one batter and striking out 13. Tolle, Boston’s No. 1 prospect, even volunteered to move to the bullpen if it meant not being optioned to the minors to start the 2026 season.”

Given how quickly he reached the majors, it may only be a matter of time before Tolle is back — and this time, with a real chance to stick.

Connelly Early Makes Opening Day Roster: Report

Toward the end of last season, the Red Sox not only called up Tolle, they also promoted another left-handed prospect — Connelly Early. Early was also electric in his major league debut, striking out 11 in five scoreless innings in a road game against the Athletics on Sept. 9.

The Red Sox thought highly enough of the 23-year-old Early that they gave him the start in the deciding Game 3 of the American League Wild Card Series against the New York Yankees, in the pressure-cooker environment of Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.

Now, according to a report by Red Sox reporter Ari Alexander of Boston’s Channel 7 television station, Early was named to Boston’s Opening Day roster. Though no specific announcement was made, the expectation is that Early will take the No. 5 spot in the Red Sox rotation.

Jonathan Vankin JONATHAN VANKIN is an award-winning journalist and writer who now covers baseball and other sports for Heavy.com. He twice won New England Press Association awards for sports feature writing. He was a sports editor and writer at The Daily Yomiuri in Tokyo, Japan, covering Japan Pro Baseball, boxing, sumo and other sports. More about Jonathan Vankin