We all knew that Paul Toboni was trying to work trades. But did you expect within an hour of midnight in Washington, D.C. on this Saturday night that the first big trade of the deadline timeframe would involve the Nats? The trade deadline is August 3rd at 6 pm. Toboni arguably traded the Washington Nationals third best offensive player, Curtis Mead, for the injured starter, Connelly Early.

Once again, you hope that Toboni is making a trade with his ex-employer, the Boston Red Sox, for the betterment of his current employer. The last time Toboni traded with his old boss, he gave away starter Jake Bennett who is starring for the Red Sox while the player that Toboni got in return, Luis Perales, walked 5 batters today against 4 strikeouts in a minor league game.

In fairness, maybe Perales will turn into a great player, but right now he just can’t locate the ball against minor league players in Triple-A.

Early, a local product from the University of Virginia and James River High School in Midlothian, Virginia, debuted last year for the Red Sox and looked like a star in the making. The Nats actually faced Early in June. That’s when Early exited with elbow discomfort. He had a shutout going when he was pulled.

The Red Sox placed Early on the 15-day injured list with left elbow inflammation after that game. Reportedly, medical imaging and a second opinion from Dr. Keith Meister confirmed posterior elbow inflammation with no structural damage or need for surgery.

Toboni was a key to drafting Early for the Boston Red Sox in the 5th round of the 2023 MLB June Amateur Draft from the University of Virginia. He was Boston’s №3 prospect and the №52 prospect in Baseball America’s Top-100 prior to the start of the 2026 season.

The clear and obvious move is that Brady House will replace Mead on the roster. If you recall, House was optioned to Triple-A on May 19, and Mead became the primary third baseman. Mead was acquired by Toboni at the end of March for minor league catcher Boston Smith in a deal with the White Sox.

In Major League impact, the Mead trade was Toboni’s only trade so far to pay dividends. But there is risk with every trade. Mead found his first success with the Nats and currently has a strong .852 OPS. Mead led the team in seeing the most pitches per at-bat at 4.27 amd ranked 5th in MLB. While his defense was a negative, his bat was a big plus as the team’s top right-handed batter. He quickly became a fan favorite.

The 24-year-old Early had a 3.44 ERA through his 17 starts this season before the injury. That ERA would rank him between Foster Griffin and Cade Cavalli. When healthy, he has top-of-the-rotation potential. Ironically, the Red Sox were willing to part with Early because Bennett is healthy and currently their team’s best healthy pitcher with a 2.58 ERA.

As we wait on Toboni to hold a press conference on this trade, we just published an article on the caution on making trades. Hopefully Toboni will come out on top on this one. Losing Mead at this time is really about what House can do in his place.