The Washington Nationals are scrambling a bit to make sure Connelly Early still gets work in before the season winds down.
Early was lined up to make his second start for the organization on Sunday with Double-A Harrisburg, but rain wiped out the game and pushed that plan off the board. With the end of the 2026 campaign closing in, Washington now has to figure out the best way to keep the left-hander on track for a possible big league debut with his new club.
According to Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic, the Nationals are looking at two paths.
Manager Blake Butera said one option is to have Early pitch for Triple-A Rochester on Tuesday. The Red Wings are set to open a six-game road series against the Buffalo Bisons, and Tuesday would be Game 1 of that final regular-season set.
That seems to be the likeliest route. The Nationals believe Early is healthy enough for a live-game look at the upper levels of the minors after his outing in the Bridge League, so moving him to Triple-A rather than keeping him at Double-A appears to be the direction Washington is leaning.
There’s also another possibility: Early could throw in a live session at Nationals Park on Monday. That would let him face live action without taking the mound in an actual game, giving Washington a more controlled setting and, in theory, a safer one that reduces injury risk.
Either way, the clock is ticking.
If Early goes to Triple-A and comes out of the outing healthy, the Nationals could activate him from the injured list once he’s ready to pitch again. That would leave Washington a six-game stretch for him to get into a major league game, whether that happens against the Detroit Tigers from Sept. 21-23 or the New York Mets from Sept. 25-27.
Of course, that only works if the team doesn’t decide he needs more reps first. For now, the Nationals are trying to squeeze one more step into a very short window, and Sunday’s rainout only made the process more complicated.
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