{"id":3374,"date":"2026-06-23T07:33:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T07:33:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3374"},"modified":"2026-06-23T07:33:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T07:33:22","slug":"why-the-red-sox-are-sending-connelly-early-and-payton-tolle-back-to-boston-early-from-colorado","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3374","title":{"rendered":"Why the Red Sox are sending Connelly Early and Payton Tolle back to Boston early from Colorado"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<p><span>DENVER \u2014 The Red Sox are playing three games at the Rockies\u2019 Coors Field this week. <b>Connelly Early<\/b> and <b>Payton Tolle<\/b> are just attending one of them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3372\">England clearly has the talent to bring the World Cup trophy home. Can it finally weather the pressure to?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>The Sox plan to send the rookie lefthanders back to Boston early \u2014 midday Tuesday \u2014 in an effort to minimize their time in the Mile High City\u2019s extreme altitude and maximize their time at home before they face the Yankees.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cJust to get them out of these elements and give them a couple of days to reacclimate,\u201d interim manager <b>Chad Tracy<\/b> said.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>Pitching coach <b>Andrew Bailey<\/b> said: \u201cWe know they\u2019re not going to pitch this series, so getting them back in the good sleep patterns, recovery [is worthwhile]. We have plenty of staff [at Fenway Park who] will take care of them and get them what they need.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It is not uncommon for teams to send the next day\u2019s starting pitcher a few hours ahead when they are about to change cities, to ensure that that guy can get a full night of sleep. Sending someone(s) a day and a half ahead of the rest of the team is rarer \u2014 except when clubs come to Colorado.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><span>Get Starting Point<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><label>Enter Email<\/label><\/p>\n<div><button>Sign Up<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><span>Related<span>: <\/span><\/span>As the Red Sox struggle, checking in on several former players across the league<\/div>\n<p><span>Because the thin mountain air impacts so much of the game here \u2014 pitch shapes, batted-ball flights, physical recovery of athletes\u2019 bodies \u2014 teams make a point to limit the effects.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>When Bailey was with the Giants, they would have their non-participating starting pitchers skip the trip altogether by staying in San Francisco or going to the team\u2019s spring training complex in Arizona.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cA lot of teams do it,\u201d Bailey said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Early and Tolle will return more than 24 hours ahead of the rest of the Red Sox, who are due back very late Wednesday. Early will pitch against the Yankees on Thursday. Tolle will do so Friday.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cGet back east a little bit early, get back in the right time zone, and make sure we can maximize recovery,\u201d Bailey said. \u201cThat is important.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<h2>Crochet not cleared<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><span><b>Garrett Crochet<\/b> had his injured left shoulder reevaluated Monday, as scheduled, and strength tests showed that he is \u201cimproving,\u201d Tracy said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But not enough to be cleared to play catch.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThey\u2019re still showing improvement in the numbers, but we\u2019re not quite ready to throw yet,\u201d Tracy said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3370\">Bucks deal star center Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Heat, not the Celtics, in NBA blockbuster<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<h2>Sullivan vs. the Sox<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Rockies lefthander <b>Sean Sullivan<\/b>, an Andover native scheduled to start against the Red Sox on Tuesday, comes from a family of hardcore Boston sports fans \u2014 so much so that he attended the 2004 World Series parade as a 2-year-old, he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>As a kid, he counted <b>Jon Lester<\/b> (a 6-foot-4-inch southpaw, as Sullivan is now) among his favorites. <b>David Ortiz<\/b>, <b>Kevin Youkilis<\/b>, and <b>Mookie Betts<\/b> also made the list.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>This will be his third major league game. He debuted with Colorado on June 12 with three scoreless innings at the Athletics (then gave up eight runs in four innings in his encore at the Cubs).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cGrowing up, I always imagined it the other way: me playing for the Sox,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cBut this is just this cool. I\u2019m excited to get out there and compete and help the team win. It\u2019s obviously pretty cool being [against] the hometown team, but it\u2019s just like anybody else.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>His parents, <b>Patti <\/b>and <b>Joe Sullivan<\/b>, are making the trip to watch in person, he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<h2>Coming back to Coors<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>For Tracy, returning to Coors Field stirred memories of his father\u2019s stint as manager of the Rockies. <b>Jim Tracy<\/b> had that job from 2009-12, taking over as interim manager early in that first season (after initially coming aboard as bench coach) and leading the club to a surprise playoff berth.<\/span><\/p>\n<div><span>Related<span>: <\/span><\/span>Tyron Guerrero finds a home in Boston, and other Red Sox thoughts<\/div>\n<p><span>A minor league player at the time, Chad Tracy spent much of those Septembers \u2014 when his season was over \u2014 in Denver hanging around.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cEvery time I come in here, the first thing I think about is one of the playoff games against the Phillies in \u201909. It was electric,\u201d Chad Tracy said. \u201c<b>[Yorvit] Torrealba<\/b> had a big hit to right-center in that game. I remember thinking at the time, that was maybe the loudest I\u2019ve ever heard a stadium.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<h2>Romy good to go<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><span><b>Romy Gonzalez<\/b> will resume his rehab assignment Tuesday with Triple-A Worcester, Tracy said. He sat out the weekend after a fleeting left hip issue. Activating him during the homestand that begins Thursday \u201ccould be\u201d in play, per Tracy, depending on how Gonzalez feels physically and at the plate \u2026 In the All-Star voting update released Monday, the Red Sox had one player in the top 10 at his position: <b>Willson Contreras<\/b>, who was sixth among AL first basemen. The first phase of voting runs through noon Thursday. The top two at each position (and top six outfielders) advance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3369\">Maryland Democrats choose nominees for US House, including a successor for longtime Representative Steny Hoyer<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With a four-game home series against the Yankees starting on Thursday, the Red Sox are trying to make sure their starting pitchers are prepared.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3373,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Why the Red Sox are sending Connelly Early and Payton Tolle back to Boston early from Colorado - 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