Brayan Bello is headed to the World Baseball Classic, but he's not going there with much momentum.
We recently learned that Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Brayan Bello is going to pitch the third game for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, but he isn't heading into the tournament with much momentum, at least as of now.
Bello struggled mightily in Friday's Grapefruit League contest against the Atlanta Braves, giving up five earned runs on four hits and one walk in just two innings. He registered only one strike out.
This followed up a clunker on Sunday in which Bello went 1.1 innings, giving up four earned runs on four hits. He has a spring ERA of 24.30.
Bello will have one more outing before the World Baseball Classic appearance with the Dominican Republic, who is one of the favorites in the tournament.
Of course, you always take spring training results with a grain of salt. Perhaps Bello is working on something specific, or struggling to adjust to a new catcher, or something else, but it's still troubling to see one of your top arms struggle in back-to-back outings.
About Bello
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. Johan Oviedo currently has the 'inside track' at the No. 5 spot, but Payton Tolle, Connelly Early, Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval could all factor into the mix at some point during the campaign.
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.
Also in Red Sox news
Outfielders Ceddanne Rafaela and Roman Anthony suffered a scary collision early in Friday's contest. Both players stayed in the game, but here's the play. Both players are vital to Boston's success and both are also going to the World Baseball Classic.
Jarren Duran hit a home run on Friday, providing some early offense against Chris Sale.
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