While Masataka Yoshida has already left Boston Red Sox spring training in order to meet up with his Japanese teammates in advance of the World Baseball Classic, the rest of the participating Red Sox should remain in camp through the end of the weekend.

One of those participating members is right-handed pitcher Brayan Bello, who will pitch for the Dominican Republic. It will be the first time that Bello plays for the DR in the event.

And according to manager Albert Pujols, we now know when Bello will take the mound: Game 3 of pool play in a matchup against Israel.

Left-hander Cristopher Sanchez will open up against Nicaragua, Luis Severino will battle the Netherlands, with Bello next and then Sandy Alcantara against Israel.

Bello's start will come on March 9, as the Dominican Republic opens up play on March 6 before being off March 7. The DR is one of the favorites to win the tournament alongside Japan and the United States. The group won the event in 2013 as well.

Still just 26 years old, Bello made his major league debut in 2022. A four-year veteran, he's gone 39-36 with a 4.09 ERA, though he took a step forward in 2025, going 11-9 with a 3.35. He's won double-digit games in each of his three full seasons, and he's made 28 starts or more in each of those years.

He figures to pair with Sonny Gray, Garrett Crochet and Ranger Suarez in the Red Sox rotation, which should be one of the best in baseball. Kutter Crawford, Johan Oviedo, Payton Tolle and Connelly Early are battling for the No. 5 spot.

The one thing Bello doesn't do much is miss bats, so we'll see if he features more swing-and-miss stuff this season. He fanned only 124 batters in 166.2 innings last season, and he's never had more strikeouts than innings pitched in a big-league campaign.

He signed a six-year contract worth $55 million before the 2024 season and is under contract through 2029.

--Boston lost 2-1 against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday afternoon in Grapefruit League action. Early's work on the mound stuck out to our own Tom Carroll, who wrote about his performance here. 

--We know that manager Alex Cora has named Roman Anthony as his leadoff hitter this season, but did he also recently tip his hand on the Opening Day lineup?

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