Boston’s No. 2 prospect (per MLB Pipeline) made a strong Major League debut on Aug. 29, striking out eight while allowing two runs in 5 1/3 innings in a no-decision against the Pirates.
Rather than keeping the 22-year-old lefty on regular rest for a start on Wednesday night against the Guardians, the Sox will give him two extra days of recovery and have him pitch Friday night in Arizona.
In preparation for that, Tolle threw a bullpen session at Fenway prior to Tuesday’s game.
Tolle has pitched 97 innings in his first professional season.
“I think the innings are where they should be,” said Cora. “Just, he hasn’t pitched in a regular rotation, so we have to take care of him.”
Wednesday’s starter is a TBD for now. Cora did say that Dustin May is moving to the bullpen on a temporary basis and is likely to be a part of Wednesday’s gameplan, throwing up to 40 pitches on three days of rest from his most recent start.
Lefty starter Kyle Harrison, who has been at Triple-A Worcester since being acquired on June 15 for Rafael Devers, could be activated to start that game or work bulk relief, though Cora said no decision has been made.
“We’re here in the day-to-day business right now,” said Cora. “Take care of today and then we’ll decide tomorrow.”
Cora said the reason May is pitching in relief for the time being is so he wouldn’t have a big gap of time lapse between appearances.
The Red Sox are off on Thursday. With Tolle going Friday, that means that Lucas Giolito and Brayan Bello will also be on six days of rest assuming they pitch Saturday and Sunday in Arizona.
Since May’s arrival from the Dodgers at the July 31 Trade Deadline, he is 1-4 with a 5.68 ERA in five starts.
“I think the fastball command was off the last two, that’s it,” said Cora. “Everybody here, it starts with fastball command, Bello was off, and you saw what happened. So with [May], he was able to locate his fastball early on, and he has struggled the last two.”
As for Tolle, the Red Sox are enjoying getting to know what he’s about on and off the mound.
“Just let him be,” said Cora. “I think there’s a reason he’s here. I think PD [player development] did an amazing job throughout the season. The pitching group, they’re aware of what he needs to do to keep getting better, and we’re going to keep helping him out. Friday was outstanding. If he can do that the rest of the month, we’re in a really good place.”
