The Red Sox prefer to use a right-hander Brian Bello at Triple-A Worcester, WBZ’s Dan Roche reports. Boston will add the rest of the newly acquired relievers Joe La Sorsa in the active lineup for tomorrow’s series premiere in The Bronx.
Bello was hit again this afternoon, giving up eight runs over five innings to defeat the Orioles. He now sits at 6.34 earned run average over 61 frames on the season. He has a low job rate of 15.6%. Bello has the worst average exit velocity allowed while giving up 1.48 home runs per nine innings.
The main problem is that Bello has no answers for left-handed hitters. They carried a .323/.384/.554 line with almost as many walks as 147 plate appearances in today’s start. He hasn’t been great against righties either, but his numbers against lefties are unbearable. That was also a problem for Bello early in his career.
Boston tried to fix that by using the opening left in front of Bello four times. He pitched very well in that outing, but the opener (Jovani Morán or Tyler Samaniego) allowed at least one run in each. The Sox went 1-3 in those games without Bello with a combined ERA of 0.71 in 25 1/3 innings.
The 27-year-old righty was asked about the big difference between his play as a shortstop versus a starter. It is clear that he is not happy with this question.
“First of all, just stop talking about the bullpen and starting games,” he said in Spanish through the team’s interpreter (link via Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic). “I’ve always been a starter, and if I’m successful as a starter, nobody’s asking your question (about) whether I should be in the bullpen or starting games. So, from there, just stop that talk, because I’m having a bad season. That’s it. It’s not that I’m a starter or a starter. I know it’s a bad season.
Marcos Grunfeld of El Emergente, a native Spanish speaker on the Boston beat, translated Bello’s comments directly:
“First of all, let’s stop talking about this bad start because if I play well as a starting player, no one talks about it, since I have a bad season as a start, everyone wants to talk about it. First of all, we should stop talking about it and focus on the good things. Yes, I have a bad season as a start, but I believe that things will get better.
In any case, the Sox likely would have continued to be relegated based on Bello’s performance alone. He is in the third season of a $55MM extension signed in Spring Training 2024. Bello posted a 4.49 ERA that year and had a career season in 2025. He has a 3.35 ERA over 166 2/3 innings, though his strikeout rate has increased significantly this year. Bello is playing for a $6MM salary and is guaranteed $44.5MM from 2027-29 (including a 2030 club option buyout).
Pitchers must spend at least 15 days inactive unless they are being reinstated for an injured player. Boston could carry another reliever until his next scheduled start on Tuesday. Rookie southpaw Jake Bennettwho made his first two starts at the start of the season, seems eager to emerge. He owns a 1.60 ERA with a plus strikeout and walk mark in Triple-A.
The Red Sox still need to create a 40-man roster spot to pick up La Sorsa’s contract. Garrett Crochet he could go on the 60-day disabled list, assuming he doesn’t return from his low-grade strain for the next three weeks. The transfer will go back to his original placement on April 26.
