Following the recent elbow injury to Connelly Early, one has to wonder if the Boston Red Sox could be calling on Brayan Bello to take his place in the rotation. The right-handed pitcher struggled to start the season in the majors, but did have a few shining moments and had a strong 2025, so it’s not far-fetched to believe he could still contribute.
At least the Red Sox may have dodged a bullet with Early. The injury doesn’t appear to be anything too severe (subscription required). However, he’s still going to need someone to take his place for a few starts.
Bello was demoted to Triple-A on June 5 after a serious regression in the big league rotation. He has a decent enough track record in the majors to be a call-up option. Boston doesn’t have the luxury of depth — the Sox are already missing Garrett Crochet and quite a few arms they were expecting to have back by this point in the year, like Kutter Crawford and Johan Oviedo.
How has Bello performed since his demotion, and is he a realistic option to have a role in the rotation once again? He’s made four starts for the Worcester Red Sox so far. The righty has a 4.34 ERA, .289 BAA, and 1.39 WHIP with 22 strikeouts and four walks in 18 2/3 innings.
Checking in on Brayan Bello now that Red Sox have open rotation spot following Connelly Early injury
The numbers aren’t anything to be thrilled about, but he’s throwing strikes and has yet to allow a home run. For the most part, Bello's sittin between 93 and 96 on his fastball and sinker. He even reached back to get into the 97s a few times. So the velocity looks fine, and he’s not sacrificing the command. We've seen the full mix, too (fastball, sinker, cutter, changeup, and sweeper).
Bello has had an issue with allowing runs in the first inning this season. He surrendered at least one run in five of his eight starts in the majors. His first-inning ERA is a brutal 16.88.Â
With Worcester, he’s allowed runs in just one of the four first innings so far. He has a 4.50 first-inning ERA in Triple-A. Again, not something you’re going to jump with joy over, but it will get the job done.
The Red Sox's season has been so disappointing, you could argue they could just start throwing out unknowns as rotation replacements, but Craig Breslow and Co. are probably trying to save their jobs. Even though Bello hasn’t been good in 2026, he’s shown he can produce in the past, and that might be enough for them. Due to that, it will likely be Bello (or Patrick Sandoval if he’s ready to go).
The Red Sox need warm bodies, and Bello has had some phenomenal outings in 2026. Boston fans might not be too excited if he’s the name called upon, and no one would blame them. Bello has been okay for Worcester, though. Maybe he’s ironed out a few of the issues that plagued him through the first two months of the season.
Bello's history shows there may be time for him to turn his luck around. Call it blind faith, but he's shown enough over the last few seasons and is only 27. I refuse to believe he can't still be a serviceable arm.
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