In a deal that marked the unofficial kickoff of this year’s trade deadline season, the Washington Nationals and Boston Red Sox each addressed a significant need on their big-league rosters, with Curtis Mead heading to Boston late Saturday night in exchange for left-handed starter Connelly Early.
The Nationals recently communicated that they would be open to acquiring big-league talent at the deadline. The Red Sox, one of the hottest teams in baseball, wanted a right-handed power hitting infielder on the roster. In the trade, which was first reported by ESPN, both teams got what they wanted.
To fill the vacancy left by Mead, the Nationals will recall third baseman Brady House from Triple-A Rochester, said a person briefed on the team’s plans who was granted anonymity to speak candidly
Mead posted an .852 OPS across 87 games with Washington. Early has been on the 15-day injured list since July 1, and has a 3.44 ERA across 17 starts this year. Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni helped draft and develop Early when he was with Boston.
The Nationals, per a team source, believe they are getting “one of the most exciting young arms in the game.” It comes at the cost of Mead, who had been designated for assignment by the Chicago White Sox in March. Nevertheless, the new front office identified aspects of Mead’s swing that made him a good candidate to add bat speed, and helped him get more comfortable at the plate. He was acquired for catcher Boston Smith, the Nats’ sixth-round pick in 2025 who has a 1.035 OPS in the minors this season.
With the Nationals, Mead tapped into the pull-side power that helped him become a top prospect as he slugged a career-high 17 home runs. Four months later, he netted a top young arm who is under control through 2031.
“Coming here with Blake (Butera) was just great for me, because I felt like I didn’t need to prove myself to him,” Mead told The Athletic on Friday. “He made that clear. That was kind of his main message. He was my coach in Low A when I did awesome. He was like, ‘Dude, if you just do your own thing, we know you’re good enough.’
“And that was just kind of special for me. I’d felt like, up until that point, I’d been constantly trying to prove to everyone that I could play in the big leagues. Just hearing from the guy making the decisions of the team that he felt like I was, just helped me settle in.”
At 53-52, the Nationals are one of the biggest surprises in MLB and are still in the thick of the wild-card race. The Red Sox (53-50) occupy the AL’s third wild-card spot.
House was sent down in mid-May to work on his defense and hit right-handed pitching. In July, he made real progress on that front, though the overall numbers versus righties in Triple A (.652 OPS) mean there is probably more work to do.
The Nationals still have to decide what they wish to do with several other top names on their roster, including All-Stars CJ Abrams and Foster Griffin, as well as power-hitting first baseman Luis Garcia Jr. who, like Mead, was linked to the Red Sox.
