Article: Has Brayan Bello Turned the Corner?

[Alex Mayes]

The young starter was given a vote of confidence by the front office during the offseason. Has he done enough to prove them right?

Brayan Bello was given a 6 year, $55 million contract before the start of the 2024 season. While surprising, this signaled that the Red Sox believed that he could turn into a front end starter based on last year’s starts. With Chris Sale gone and Lucas Giolito on the IL for the season, Brayan was suddenly tasked with becoming the Opening Day starter and the de facto ace of the staff. After a promising start to the season against what was supposed to be a potent Seattle offense, mid-game outbursts took over the headlines and a lack of maturing was blamed for his dip in performance. However, going into the series in Miami in July, Alex Cora decided to give Bello multiple days off, in part, to reset his mind. It paid off. Bello turned in one of the best starts of the season going 6.2 innings allowing seven hits, one walk, and struck out seven. Although there have been some rough starts since then, Bello appeared to finally turn the corner and start to evolve into a potential top of the rotation piece. Not an ace, but a number two starter. 

If we look at the numbers heading into that July start, we see a starter still trying to figure it out. During that stretch Bello went six and five, turned in three quality starts, and had a K/9 of 8.41. He sported a 5.70 ERA, giving up 42 earned runs in 66.1 innings while averaging five innings a game. Bello got knocked around a lot. When he would give up the long ball, he would sulk and slam his glove on the ground. Cora, who held Bello’s feet to the fire on more than one occasion over the last two seasons, never wavered in his belief of his young starter though. Bello was held accountable, sure, but the trust was always there. Showcasing his strengths as a personnel manager just as much as he is a game manager, Cora decided to give Bello an extra three days of rest and that proved to be the thing that locked everything into place.

If we look at the numbers from July 3 to his last start on September 9 we see a vastly improved pitcher. Bello has gone six and two, turning in seven quality starts. His K/9 is up to 9.00 while his ERA is down to 3.91 while giving up 33 earned runs in 76 innings pitched. Sure, the five walks in his last start are not ideal but the command will come. He’s shown flashes of being able to combine his knack for being able to get soft contact grounders with being able to make batters look foolish swinging at his sinker for strikeouts. A young, controlled pitcher who can do both and has the confidence of both the front office and the manager is not something to ignore.

Brayan Bello is trending in the right direction. He doesn’t have to be the ace of the staff. The potential is there but as long as the front office makes smart decisions and trades from the wealth of prospects to bolster the pitching staff this offseason, Bello can slot into the number two or three starter role and flourish. Who knows, he may just live up to the hype Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez heaped upon him this past offseason. 
 

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