Red Sox Unveil Plan For Payton Tolle’s Next Appearance

Boston Red Sox fans will have to wait a little bit longer to see Payton Tolle take the mound at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox starting pitcher for this Saturday is yet to be determined. Many speculated that Tolle could take the spot and debut, but that won’t be the case. According to Tim Healey of the Boston Globe, Tolle will make his next outing on Friday for Triple-A Worcester. He’ll either start or follow Shane Drohan, who was recently activated from a rehab stint.

The roster expands from 26 to 28 on September 1. The Red Sox can use one of those two spots on a pitcher, so Tolle could be brought up the next time around. He isn’t on the 40-man roster and doesn’t need to be protected from the Rule-5 draft this offseason, so there is some reason to leave him in the minors for the rest of 2025.

On the other hand, if Tolle can help the major league team win this season, it makes sense to activate him. The trio of Garrett Crochet, Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito has been excellent over the last two and a half months. If the Red Sox can add another talented arm, either as a starter or in the bullpen, it could go a long way in making a deep postseason run.

Tolle is eligible for the playoffs regardless of when he’s activated. Players must be in the organization by September 1 to be playoff eligible, but they don’t have to be on the 40-man roster until they’re activated.

Who will start on Saturday is yet to be announced. Richard Fitts was in the mix to start, but was injured in his last outing. Walker Buehler is also stretched out and can handle a bulk role. Kyle Harrison threw three innings for Worcester on Tuesday, lining him up for Saturday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Harrison didn’t have a great outing, despite only allowing one run. He didn’t generate a single whiff and only threw 55% strikes. He’ll need to be sharper against Pittsburgh should he make his Red Sox debut, though the Pirates have struggled offensively and don’t hit lefties well.