Getty
Starting pitcher Brayan Bello received some harsh news from the team after Thursday’s defeat.
The Boston Red Sox wasted little time responding after Brayan Bello’s disastrous outing against the Baltimore Orioles, making a significant move involving the right-hander shortly after the game. The decision comes as Boston searches for answers amid a difficult season dragging into its third full month.
Bello entered the start looking to build momentum, but the outing instead raised new questions about his role and future with the Boston club. The Red Sox’s response underscored the urgency surrounding a team fighting to stay on track in the American League playoff race.
Bello’s Demotion Confirmed by Multiple Sources
Boston optioned Bello to Triple-A Worcester in a move confirmed by multiple reporters shortly after the final out. WBZ-TV’s Dan Roche broke the news, citing sources, with MassLive Red Sox beat writer Chris Cotillo confirming the demotion independently.
As a starter in 2026, Bello carries a 10.35 ERA across 35 2/3 innings — 41 earned runs in eight outings. Flip him to a bulk-reliever role following an opener and the results are almost unrecognizable. He boasts a 0.71 ERA over 25 1/3 innings with just two earned runs allowed, as noted by analyst Matthew Crory in a social media post.
Thursday’s start produced his worst line of the season. Bello needed 40 pitches just to escape the first inning, allowing six runs on five hits and three walks while hitting a batter. He blanked the Orioles in the second through fourth before surrendering two more in the fifth. Final totals: eight earned runs, seven hits, three walks, four strikeouts on 108 pitches.
Interim manager Chad Tracy defended the decision to start Bello rather than use an opener.
“It just feels like for us to be successful, we need Bello to start,” Tracy said, as quoted by MassLive. “We’ve beat a dead horse with this. At the end of the day, we need this guy to pitch.” But Tracy notably did not rule out a demotion for the 27-year-old, five-year veteran.
Bello Defiant in Postgame Remarks
Bello was not ready to concede anything after the game. Speaking through a translator, he pushed back directly on the suggestion that his results as a starter make the bullpen the right home for him.
“Just stop talking about bullpen and starting games,” Bello said, as reported by MassLive‘s Christopher Smith. “I’ve always been a starter. And when I’ve been successful as a starter, nobody has questioned whether I have to be in the bullpen or starting games. So starting from there, just stop that talk because I’m just having a bad season. That’s it.”
In a fuller translation also shared by Smith, Bello sounded even more harsh and angry.
“First of all, just stop talking about this bullpen-starter crap because when I’m pitching well as a starter, nobody talks about it,” he said in the alternate translation. “Now that I’m having a bad season as a starter, everybody wants to talk crap about it. I’m a starter, and I know things are going to improve.”
The Red Sox, sitting at 26-35 and 10-21 at Fenway Park, open a three-game series at Yankee Stadium on Friday. Right-hander Sonny Gray (6-1, 3.06 ERA) starts opposite Yankees left-hander Ryan Weathers (2-3, 3.52 ERA).
Jonathan Vankin JONATHAN VANKIN is an award-winning journalist who covers MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, boxing, golf, and Olympic sports for Heavy.com. He twice won New England Newspaper and Press Association awards for sports feature writing. He was a sports editor and writer at The Daily Yomiuri in Tokyo, Japan, covering the Olympics, pro baseball, boxing, sumo and other sports. More about Jonathan Vankin
