UPDATE (4:38 p.m.): The Red Sox announced Connor Seabold will make his first start on Saturday. To make room for him on the major league roster, Brad Peacock was returned to Triple-A Worcester.
ORIGINAL STORY: It had seemed for a few days that Connor Seabold would be starting Saturday, though it never was a sure thing.
But it appears it really is happening.
Seabold will make his Major League debut Saturday when the Boston Red Sox face the Chicago White Sox, according to MassLive's Chris Cotillo and The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey. Seabold was added to the taxi squad for the current road trip, a sign that the Red Sox might be leaning toward starting him Saturday. Chris Sale testing positive for COVID-19 and not joining the team on the trip all but confirmed it would happen.
Acquired last year with Nick Pivetta in the trade that sent Heath Hembree and Brandon Workman to the Philadelphia Phillies, Seabold is one of the Red Sox's most fascinating pitching prospects and had been considered the prize of that trade. He projects to be a mid-to-back-end starter, and had been expected to compete for a rotation spot in 2022 spring training.
But now he's getting a chance to prove he can hack it in the majors after a largely solid showing this season with Triple-A Worcester.
Last year, Tanner Houck put himself on the map with some solid September showings. For a myriad of reasons, 2020 is far different than 2021. But nevertheless, this could be the beginning of Seabold showing he belongs in Boston.
