Payton Tolle SP BOS Thu 3/5/26 6:42 PM
Payton Tolle
SP BOS
Tolle allowed one hit and one walk while striking out seven over three innings of relief in Tuesday's spring game against the Yankees.
EDGE Analysis
This was the best of three Grapefruit League outings for Tolle, who entered as a reliever and upped his pitch count reached 44 (28 strikes). It was his second straight relief outing, but he remains in the mix for a rotation spot along with Connelly Early and Johan Oviedo (the frontrunner). Red Sox manager Alex Cora was enthused by the performance and the results of Tolle's curveball, which along with his changeup, could make his fastball play better.
Payton Tolle SP BOS Tue 3/3/26 4:38 PM
Payton Tolle
SP BOS
Tolle is expected to be optioned to Triple-A Worcester to begin the season if frontrunner Johan Oviedo wins the final spot in Boston's rotation, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.
EDGE Analysis
Tolle is one of the organization's top prospects and made his MLB debut last year, but he's not likely to secure a place in the Opening Day rotation given how well the Red Sox improved their rotation during the offseason. The improved rotation depth serves an additional purpose for Boston, as it should allow the organization to secure an additional year of service time for Tolle, as long as he spends at least 46 days in the minors this season.
Payton Tolle SP BOS Sun 2/22/26 12:44 PM
Payton Tolle
SP BOS
Tolle allowed one run on one hit and struck out one over two innings in Saturday's spring game against the Twins.
EDGE Analysis
Tolle mixed in secondary offerings to kick off the Grapefruit League slate for Boston, which is the team's goal for the left-hander. He added sinkers, curves, changeups, cutters and one slider to the mix among his 20 pitches (13 strikes). The one run allowed came on a Royce Lewis home run off his four-seamer, after he couldn't put the Twins third baseman away with a changeup. Other than that, it was a fine outing for the 23-year-old, who is competing for the final spot in the rotation against Johan Oviedo, Connelly Early and two veterans that didn't throw a pitch in 2025, Kutter Crawford (wrist) and Patrick Sandoval (elbow).
Payton Tolle SP BOS Sun 2/15/26 9:35 AM
Payton Tolle
SP BOS
Tolle plans to mix in more secondary offerings to complement his fastball during the upcoming season, Christoper Smith of MassLive.com reports.
EDGE Analysis
Over his 16.1 regular-season innings in the big leagues last season, Tolle's fastball averaged 96.7 miles per hour with a perceived speed of 98.7 mph due to extension and ride. The heater can be a weapon for the young left-hander, but opponents were able to hit the pitch in 2025, going 13-for-46 (.283 average) against it with a .565 slugging percentage. That's likely due to Tolle's heavy reliance on the offering, which he threw 64.1 percent of the time. Tolle feels his changeup -- which he threw just 6.9 percent of the time -- can be featured more often in 2026. Though Tolle will be given the chance to compete for the fifth spot in Boston's Opening Day rotation this spring, the fact that the 23-year-old has minor-league options remaining could work against him. Along with Tolle, Kutter Crawford, Connelly Early, Johan Oviedo and Patrick Sandoval are vying for back-end rotation spots.
Payton Tolle SP BOS Fri 9/19/25 8:03 AM
Payton Tolle
SP BOS
Tolle allowed one unearned run on three hits while striking out four over three relief innings in Thursday's 5-3 loss to the Athletics.
EDGE Analysis
Tolle, who last pitched eight days ago, made his first appearance as a reliever after the team announced Wednesday that the left-hander would be shifting to the bullpen. Boston manager Alex Cora gave starter Brayan Bello the hook after 70 pitches and four innings, as the Red Sox have slipped and are just 1.5 games ahead of the surging Guardians for the final wild-card spot. Tolle didn't get any help from Trevor Story, who committed two errors in the game.
Payton Tolle SP BOS Wed 9/17/25 4:11 PM
Payton Tolle
SP BOS
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Wednesday that Tolle will be used out of the bullpen for the remainder of the season, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.
EDGE Analysis
Connelly Early is remaining in the rotation and Kyle Harrison will join the rotation this weekend, leaving Tolle to fill a relief role the rest of the way. All three of Tolle's appearances for the Red Sox to this point have come as a starter, and he's posted a 7.84 ERA and 12:6 K:BB over 10.1 innings.
Payton Tolle SP BOS Mon 9/15/25 12:21 PM
Payton Tolle
SP BOS
The Red Sox could use Tolle in a bulk-relief role over the final two weeks of the regular season, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.
EDGE Analysis
Tolle made an abbreviated start last week versus the Athletics, allowing two runs over two innings. Lucas Giolito and Brayan Bello have both been moved up ahead of Tolle to start Wednesday and Thursday against the Athletics, respectively, on regular rest. While Tolle could conceivably receive another start this weekend versus the Rays, a more likelier scenario is that both he and Kyle Harrison serve as multi-inning relievers or work as a tandem when the fifth spot in the rotation comes up. Tolle struck out eight and yielded just two runs over 5.1 frames in his major-league debut Aug. 29, but he's permitted seven runs with a 4:4 K:BB across five innings in two outings since then.
Payton Tolle SP BOS Thu 9/11/25 9:04 AM
Payton Tolle
SP BOS
Tolle allowed two runs on three hits and struck out two over two innings in Wednesday's 5-4 loss to the Athletics.
EDGE Analysis
The plan was for Tolle to make an abbreviated start -- one time through the order -- after he threw three troubled innings (77 pitches) in his previous start Friday. Working on four days' rest. Tolle was touched for a home run in both innings, and the rookie has allowed four long balls in his last five innings. Teams appear to be sitting on Tolle's fastball, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. He's thrown fastballs 55.7 percent of the time, and cutters (a fastball variant) 24.7 percent of the time.
Payton Tolle SP BOS Wed 9/10/25 10:52 AM
Payton Tolle
SP BOS
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that Tolle will make an abbreviated start in Wednesday's game against the Athletics in Sacramento, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.
EDGE Analysis
Over the weekend, Cora had said that Tolle would be part of the pitching plan for Wednesday's game, though the rookie wasn't in line to start. Cora has since opted to have Tolle make a start in the series finale, though the left-hander will handle a restricted workload since he'll be pitching on four days' rest for the first time all season. The Red Sox will recall Kyle Harrison from Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday, and he could end up piggybacking Tolle in the contest. Through his first two MLB starts, Tolle has struck out 10 over 8.1 innings but has given up seven earned runs on eight hits and six walks.
Payton Tolle SP BOS Sun 9/7/25 3:26 PM
Payton Tolle
SP BOS
Tolle won't start Wednesday's game against the A's but could still factor into the pitching plan, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.
EDGE Analysis
The left-hander surrendered five runs over three innings during his second big-league start Friday in Arizona, and he'll step out of the rotation for at least one turn. It sounds as though the Red Sox could utilize Tolle behind an opener Wednesday, but the organization has yet to announce its full pitching plans.