Brayan Bello had another hideous start against the Baltimore Orioles on June 4 — he let up six runs in the first inning, alone, and his day finished after he let up eight runs on seven hits and three walks over five frames. Bello also tried to wave off a mound conference from catcher Carlos Narváez while he was struggling, another bad look.
After Bello's implosion and an emotional postgame interview during which he staunchly refuted the idea that he could be moved to the bullpen, the Boston Red Sox made the rash decision to demote the starter to Triple-A. This move could be interpreted in many ways, but it definitely follows a pattern that Craig Breslow has established in Boston.
The Red Sox's chief baseball officer has a history of reacting strongly to brazen emotion from his players. A few harsh press conferences played into the drama that led up to the Rafael Devers trade nearly one year ago, and some fans have theorized that Bello was demoted more for his harsh words than his performance.
It would be hard to argue that Bello hasn't been good in his recent performances, because he's been better-than-good — excellent, even — when pitching behind an opener. Bello made four appearances in relief last month and he had a 0.71 ERA an issued just three walks in them. As a starter, Bello's ERA is 10.35 with a 1.05 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Red Sox's pettiness could've factored into decision to demote Brayan Bello to Triple-A
Bello's postgame comments were similar to Devers' in the sense that he vocalized his opposition to moving to another position. Breslow's leadership is very much in the style of "shut up and play baseball," which could've been the message to Bello after his presser.
Ultimately, Bello's blow-up and Boston's series loss to Baltimore, a close division rival, was largely the result of Red Sox coaching staff not using the exceedingly obvious information in front of them. Red Sox coaches have seen the stark difference in Bello's success, and even his personality, when he starts compared to when he comes out of the bullpen. Yet, they decided to start him against a division rival at home when they haven't won a series at Fenway Park since April 8 and desperation has fully set in at home.
Still, there are issues with Bello's performances behind an opener. The opener usually hasn't performed well in front of Bello and he usually enters the game with at least one run already on the board for the opposing team. The Red Sox have only won one of the four games Bello has entered in relief.
But if they used Bello as an opener against the Orioles, as they had been for all but one start in May, they would've had a better chance to win, and a team that sees itself as a playoff contender needs every chance it can get.
Bello's struggles truly seem to be all in his head, and maybe a stint in Worcester will serve him well. But his demotion could be just as much a result of the Red Sox's pettiness as it is a consequence of his performance as a starter.
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