What You Think About Red Sox Pitcher Brayan Bello?

FORT MYERS, Fla. — When the Red Sox broke camp last September, Brayan Bello looked like a rotation cornerstone. A strong summer had him positioned as the club’s projected No. 2 starter for a postseason push. Then the calendar flipped past Labor Day and the script changed: velocity dipped, command wavered, and the final month of 2025 unraveled into a 7.17 ERA that left evaluators wondering which version would show up this spring.

The first answer arrived yesterday in the Grapefruit League opener against Toronto. Bello recorded only four outs, surrendered four earned runs on four hits, committed a throwing error, and departed with a 27.00 ERA before the second inning concluded. The outing was brief by design—managers rarely extend starters beyond a single trip through the order in late February—but the line score still raised eyebrows across Red Sox Nation.

Front-office voices inside the organization caution against overreaction. “It’s one start, who cares?” echoed a team source, pointing to a restructured pecking order that now features Garrett Crochet, Jesús Luzardo (acquired from Miami last July), and offseason signee Sonny Gray ahead of Bello. With that trio anchoring the front end, Boston no longer needs the 27-year-old right-hander to front a playoff series; instead, the club envisions him as a back-half innings-eater capable of delivering quality starts every fifth day.

The role recalibration could prove beneficial. A year ago Bello shouldered the weight of a postseason race; in 2026 he can attack lineups with less leverage, refine a change-up that graded among baseball’s best in 2024, and build stamina after shoulder fatigue sabotaged his final six outings last season.

Still, questions linger. Can he rediscover the mid-90s sinker that generated ground-ball outs at a 54 percent clip two seasons ago? Will a simplified delivery eliminate the costly throwing error that extended yesterday’s first inning? And how quickly can pitching coach (name not disclosed in provided text) iron out mechanical inconsistencies before games begin to count in late March?

Manager Alex Cora has preached patience, noting that Bello’s spring workload will be managed conservatively with an eye toward 150 regular-season innings. If the Dominican native adapts to his streamlined expectations, Boston believes he can provide stability at the back of a rotation that quietly projects as one of the American League’s deepest.

One exhibition start does not a season make, but it does frame the conversation. For now, Red Sox fans are left to balance a single shaky frame against a broader canvas of potential. The coming weeks will determine whether yesterday’s hiccup was an aberration or an ominous prelude to another roller-coaster campaign for Brayan Bello.