As Paul Toboni watched from the stands Saturday, and Curtis Mead took what turned out to be his last at-bat in a Washington Nationals uniform, a part of the team’s president of baseball operations wanted to cry.
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Toboni knew a trade was probable at that point. He said teams had been calling him for a few days and were starting to get aggressive. Being willing to part with a player you have bonded with and watched flourish is, of course, a part of the job. But that doesn’t make it easy.
Washington acquired Mead, 25, in March after the Chicago White Sox designated him for assignment. In four months, he transformed from an outcast just trying to make a major league roster to a beloved clubhouse fixture in the midst of a career season. It was a success story for both the first-year Nationals staff and Mead. Now, the Nationals have flipped Mead for Connelly Early, a left-handed starting pitcher with high upside and years of control.
The Nationals made the swap Saturday night, the first of what could be several deals leading up to the Aug. 3 trade deadline. The move fills a need for both teams. The Red Sox needed a right-handed bat. The Nationals have infield options such as Brady House, who was recalled from Class AAA Rochester on Sunday morning, but are desperate for pitching depth.
“Ultimately, we got to the point where you all saw we thought it made sense,” Toboni said. “But it was a difficult one, given our love for Curtis the person, the player, all of it.”
In 87 games with Washington, Mead hit .254 with 17 home runs and an .852 OPS. His 11.9 percent walk rate ranked second on the team behind James Wood.
The Red Sox drafted Early in 2023, when Toboni was overseeing Boston’s amateur scouting and player development. A former star at Virginia, Early, 24, tied a franchise record with 11 strikeouts in his dominant debut late last season and went on to post a 2.33 ERA in four starts.
Early has pitched to a 3.44 ERA over 17 starts for the Red Sox this season. He has been on the injured list since July 1 with elbow inflammation, but the issue is not expected to keep him out for long. He is scheduled to make a rehab start Aug. 3 and could return shortly after.
He throws six pitches: a four-seam fastball, a sinker, a changeup, a curveball, a slider and a sweeper.
“He’s just a stud,” Toboni said. “A competitor. Incredibly composed out there. Brings great energy to the clubhouse. He’s one of my favorites that I’ve been around. An awesome get for us — obviously the talent, but also from a clubhouse perspective, he couldn’t be better.”
Toboni said his familiarity with Early did raise the concern that he had blinders on when evaluating his talent. So he involved others, including Manager Blake Butera, and got their approval before the Nationals finalized the deal.
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“I think we all know we need pitching and especially pitching that we control for five-plus years,” Butera said. “The fact is Connelly hasn’t been in the big leagues long, but he’s had some success at the major league level. I think there’s an extremely bright future for him, and to be able to get that is unbelievable.”
Toboni was not planning to trade Mead, but it became clear that teams were willing to pay a high price for him. This is not expected to alter how the Nationals attack the rest of the deadline.
They are in a difficult place. At one game above .500 heading into Sunday’s home game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, they are two games out of a wild-card spot. It’s a manageable margin, but four other teams are clustered within three games of that third spot.
“This team, they have the quote-unquote ‘it’ to them,” Toboni said. “I don’t know how it’s defined. Talent aside, they just get along great with each other. They challenge each other. The way the staff and the players interact, it’s really cool. We’re going to really try and compete and make a run.”
But Washington also needs to balance going for it this season with sustaining success for years. Early, who is under control through 2031, will help with both of those. When he returns from the injured list, he’ll be an upgrade to a rotation that has a 4.50 ERA, the seventh-worst in MLB.
With Foster Griffin (who could also be dealt soon), Zack Littell (who has a mutual option for 2027) and Miles Mikolas on one-year deals, and Trevor Williams reaching the end of his two-year contract, Early joins Cade Cavalli, Jake Irvin and Andrew Alvarez as starters who are under control next season.
On Sunday morning, Toboni explained the trade to players. Relationships and communication have been hallmarks of this staff, and he wanted them to know why the deal was made. He considers clubhouse dynamics when making moves, he said, in addition to how they fit on a spreadsheet.
But it was still difficult for Butera, who has known Mead since the Tampa Bay Rays acquired the infielder in 2019 and Butera was a manager in the team’s minor league system.
“I just think the world of Curtis, and also everything he’s gone through in his young career,” Butera said. “He’s dealt with a lot of adversity. He was basically given another chance here and flourished and had a lot of success, and I think he felt really comfortable here. I’m just hopeful he can continue this. I know he will.”
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