Well, MLB trade season kicked off a bit early on Saturday night with a bit of a surprise. The Boston Red Sox are trading top pitching prospect Connelly Early to the Washington Nationals for infielder Curtis Mead, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
As of now, it appears to be a straight 1-for-1 swap. Early made his MLB debut last season, giving Boston a shot in the arm during the stretch run before a rough playoff start. Through 17 starts this year, Early has a 3.44 ERA with 93 strikeouts through 91.2 innings. The underlying numbers don’t love his production this year, but for a 24-year-old, he’s been awfully good. With Washington expected to shop breakout veteran starter Foster Griffin before the deadline, Early slots nicely into a rotation that is starved for young talent.
Mead, 25, is having a breakout season at third base for the Nationals. The former Rays top prospect now moves to his fourth major league team just as he’s figuring things out. Mead has 17 homers this season in addition to an .850 OPS and a 136 OPS+. While his defense has been quite rough at the hot corner, he has time to figure things out.
For what it’s worth, this trade comes on the heels of the news that incumbent third baseman Caleb Durbin would be willing to move to second base to accommodate a new third baseman. Durbin has been an excellent fielder in his debut season with Boston and will be an upgrade at the keystone position.
Currently, the Red Sox have +2200 odds to win the World Series on DraftKings Sportsbook, following their incredible winning streak. According to Baseball Reference’s metrics, the Sox have an 81.1% chance of making the postseason, almost certainly as a Wild Card team. The Nationals have been quite the surprise, sitting at 53-52 with a 21.5% chance to make the playoffs. They’re a ways down the World Series odds at +40000.
