Red Sox can no longer justify commitment to Brayan Bello after another disaster

Bullet point summary by AI

• Brayan Bello allowed seven earned runs in five innings against the Atlanta Braves, raising his season ERA to 7.16.
• The Red Sox face a critical decision on Bello’s role with Garrett Crochet nearing a return from injury.
• As the Red Sox fight to not be completely out of the playoff race by mid-summer, what they do with Bello is critical.

Brayan Bello is among the most maddening baseball players who’ve ever existed — just ask any Boston Red Sox fan at this point. He arrived on the Red Sox with sky-high expectations when he made his debut at 23 years old in 2022, and the flashes have certainly been there. At his best, it’s not a stretch to say that he’s been brilliant. The consistency with which he’s been performing at that level, however, has never been there — and now we’ve reached an inflection point.

After Sunday’s brutal start against the Atlanta Braves, his first outing in the last three when he didn’t come in after an opener, in which he allowed seven earned runs on eight hits and three walks across five innings, we’re past time for experiments or hoping for him to realize his potential. With the Red Sox in dire straights, they need to take drastic action with Bello and finally give up on the commitment they’ve shown to him over the years. He either needs to be optioned, be put in the bullpen, or someone have a serious conversation about keeping him on the roster at all.

Brayan Bello has wasted any good will with the Red Sox

To put it bluntly, Bello’s performance alone has been enough for anyone involved with the Red Sox to lose faith in the 27-year-old right-hander. He’s now made seven official starts this year, and has a 9.68 ERA in those outings. Now, he did look good with an opener, posting a 1.35 ERA in the two outings where that was the case. But the reality of that is that he’s still a pitcher with a 7.16 ERA on the season overall.

Situationally, I don’t love the idea of an opener being the answer for Bello either. Not only has Jovani Moran actually struggled in that situation in his two opener starts, but the moment the Red Sox and interim manager Chad Tracy tried to give him more leash with a start in Atlanta, he immediately reverted to the problematic pitcher who continually falls behind in counts and has poor command.

And if that weren’t enough to justify either optioning him, let’s not act like his behavior hasn’t been rubbing some the wrong way either. Let’s not forget his final start of April when he’d given up three runs through 3.2 innings and then walked someone, which led to Tracy pulling him from the game. Rather than taking accountability for being the one with a 9.12 ERA at the time who didn’t deserve a long leash, he reacted incredulously on the mound, shaking his head furiously.

And that seemingly ties in to some of the instances with his postgame comments where Bello has tried to, at least to some perceptions, sidestep blame or accountability. That’s rich in itself, considering that these blowup outings have been issues for him in Boston for at least part of every season he’s been in the big leagues.

The only argument at this point for keeping Bello in the rotation would be because of injuries (and even then, I still might prefer calling up Jake Bennett again to start in his place instead). And yet, as this Red Sox rotation starts to get healthy, that excuse is about to go by the wayside.

Garrett Crochet’s impending return also leaves no room for Brayan Bello

Admittedly, Garrett Crochet wasn’t himself before hitting the IL with shoulder inflammation. However, the hope is that the time to heal and rehab will have the southpaw ace back to his Cy Young-caliber form when he returns. And it seems like his return is inching closer, as he threw a 35-pitch bullpen session in Atlanta and will work again on Wednesday while also saying previously he doesn’t want to have a rehab start in the minors.

Once he’s back, though, there really isn’t an option in the rotation for a team that’s been woeful, but has only been in games because of pitching other than either optioning Bello, letting him hit the phantom IL with a “newly discovered” injury, or moving him to the bullpen.

Seriously, though — Ranger Suarez has looked elite in his most recent starts, and has a 2.44 ERA. That’s better than everyone other than Payton Tolle, who’s come up and tossed to a 2.05 ERA across five starts. Sonny Gray has lowered his ERA to 3.18. Connelly Early has been rock-solid with a 3.21 ERA. And then there’s Bello, sitting there with an ERA over 7.00. It’s a no-brainer.

Because of the extension he was given in 2024 (by Craig Breslow, it should be noted), the Red Sox have been quite committed to making this work with the right-hander. Because of that, I don’t think him being optioned, despite that being available, is the most realistic option. However, the team undeniably needs to soften that commitment and move him to the bullpen. Maybe it can help him find better stuff or more consistency with a new routine.

What’s become as clear as possible, though, is that the Red Sox rotation right now would be better without Brayan Bello in it.