Red Sox
Bello suffered a strain in his pitching shoulder in spring training.
The Red Sox’ pitching staff will move a step closer to being at full form this week.
Brayan Bello will “most likely” make his season debut when the Red Sox host the Mariners on Tuesday, manager Alex Cora told reporters on Sunday.
The right-handed pitcher missed the opening weeks of the 2025 season after dealing with soreness in his throwing shoulder during spring training. Bello’s injury occurred before he pitched in any spring training games.
Even though Bello was placed on the injured list to open the season, the expectation was that he would be back with the Red Sox within the first month of the season. He began his rehab stint not long after the minor league season began, making a start with Double-A Portland and three starts with Triple-A Worcester.
Bello’s stat line wasn’t too great over his four rehab starts, posting a 7.07 ERA as he gave up 11 earned runs in 14 innings. He allowed four runs in 4 1/3 innings in his final rehab start on Wednesday, but struck out seven. He finished his rehab stint with 21 strikeouts and a 1.57 WHIP.
As Bello is set to return to the Red Sox’ rotation, many hope that this will be the year he’ll break out to become a reliable top-end pitcher. The 25-year-old has shown some high-end potential through his first three seasons, but some inconsistencies have caused his ERA to finish in the mid-4.00 range in each of his first three seasons in the majors. He went 14-8 with a 4.49 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, and 153 strikeouts over 162 1/3 innings pitched in 30 starts last season.
The Red Sox made some moves over the offseason to relieve the stress on Bello to become their full-time ace, trading for Garrett Crochet and signing Walker Buehler. Despite those moves, though, Boston’s starting rotation hasn’t been stellar to open the year. Buehler and Tanner Houck have had struggles, while injuries to Bello, Lucas Giolito, and Kutter Crawford have caused Boston to rely on unproven arms (Richard Fitts, Hunter Dobbins) and journeymen (Sean Newcomb) to fill out its rotation.
Fitts looked promising in his time filling in for Bello, posting a 3.18 ERA through his first three starts. But he left his third start early due to a pectoral injury. He played catch at Fenway ahead of Sunday’s game against the White Sox, according to Cora. He currently doesn’t have a timeline for a return after getting placed on the 15-day injured list.
As for Giolito, Cora said that he expects the veteran righty to make another rehab start after pitching with Double-A Portland on Sunday.
Sign up for Red Sox updates⚾
Get breaking news and analysis delivered to your inbox during baseball season.
