Boston Red Sox players owned the group stage of the World Baseball Classic, and 10 players seek to continue their dominance as they represent their countries in bracket play. Brayan Bello will not be among them.
Red Sox fans on March 13 got unexpected news that Bello returned to Fort Myers to continue spring training rather than finishing out the tournament with team Dominican Republic. He may return to the tournament to join his former teammates if they advance to the semifinal round, but he's done pitching for them.
Team Dominican Republic is loaded with sluggers and they've posted a tournament-leading 1.130 OPS as a team through the first round. Cristopher Sánchez is their ace, but he struggled so severely in his first outing that Bello was the best performing starter on their squad.
On March 13, the Dominican Republic will take on Korea to open the WBC quarterfinals. The DR is undefeated through the first four games of the tournament while Korea finished at 2-and-2 in an easier pool — the former team is nearly guaranteed to advance, which would send it to the semifinal round to face the winner from quarterfinal two, most likely the United States (if it can get its act together after an unexpected loss to Italy).
Bello said Luis Severino will now pitch for the Dominican Republic against Team USA, arguably the second-scariest team in the WBC besides the DR itself. Bello represented the best chance for his team to beat team USA to advance to the final, and losing him will be a huge blow.
Brayan Bello returns to Red Sox spring training before Team Dominican Republic finished the World Baseball Classic
Took care of business 👏 pic.twitter.com/BpDRs9thLp
— Red Sox (@RedSox) March 9, 2026
Team USA is staffed entirely of current big leaguers. Severino has more major league experience than Bello with 10 and four seasons under their respective belts, but Bello has been the better pitcher in recent years.
Severino posted a 4.54 ERA over 162.2 innings with the Athletics last season and Bello clocked a 3.35 figure over 166.2 innings with Boston. Neither pitcher is a particularly proficient strike thrower, but Bello has a higher ground ball rate, which is a great match for the DR's talented defensive infield that includes Manny Machado, Geraldo Perdomo and Ketel Marte.
Bello also has an excellent track record against the New York Yankees and Aaron Judge. Team USA's captain didn't collect a single hit off Bello over seven at-bats in 2025 and he struck out four times. The United States' other opponents have done a solid job at keeping Judge quiet through the first games of the tournament, and Bello is best equipped to do the same for the DR.
Team USA also boasts Roman Anthony and Alex Bregman, a current and former teammate of Bello's. He would know their strengths and weaknesses and the best way to attack them on the mound.
Don't get us wrong, Team DR's offense will do much of the heavy lifting to get it through the rest of the tournament, as it already has in the earlier games. But Bello would've been the best pitcher for a tough job against Team USA.